Turki Alalshikh plans to have Canelo Alvarez fight the eventual winner of Chris Eubank Jr’s and Conor Benn’s fights in 2026. Those two fighters will compete twice in British dust-ups, starting on April 26th at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London. Fans wanted to see Canelo fight quality opposition, like David Benavidez, not these two guys.
Turki told Sky Sports he wants the Eubank Jr-Benn winners to challenge unified super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) for his belts next year.
This move will please UK fans, who enjoy watching Eubank Jr. and Benn. However, neither of these fighters rates a world title shot against Canelo at 168 or even a fight in general. Giving the winner of the two Eubank Jr.-Benn fights a title shot against Canelo sends the wrong message.
Sport or Business?
It’s similar to what we see with Terence Crawford moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for his three belts at 168 in September. These fighters should beat the top contenders at super middleweight to earn a fight for Alvarez’s three belts.
What appears to be happening is a morphing from sport to business. Canelo’s fights against Crawford and the Eubank Jr-Benn winner are not sports-level fights. They are business and celebrity-level fights, which are fine, but it would be better for the fans if Turki labeled these matches as such. First, we saw it with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury fighting MMA heavyweight Francis Ngannou. Crawford and the Eubank Jr-Benn winner now fight Canelo for his belts at 168. These are business-level fights.
U.S. fans don’t view the 35-year-old Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) and Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) as world-class fighters. They see them as career-long British-level fighters who, for whatever reason, never stepped up to the world level. They’re the children of famous British boxers, and they’ve made good money in their careers despite never facing tough competition.
Enough British fans will order the Canelo vs. Eubank Jr-Benn winner on PPV for it to do decent numbers. It keeps Canelo winning long enough for him to enter the fourth of his contract with Turki with a good chance of being 3-0. Canelo recently signed a four-fight deal with Turki.
Canelo’s planned fights
1st: William Scull – May 3rd undisputed clash in Riyadh
2nd: Terence Crawford: September 13th in U.S
3rd: Eubank Jr. vs. Benn 2 winner in 2026
4th: ??
Last Updated on 02/25/2025
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