Canelo has one man in his sights after Edgar Berlanga – and it is not Benavidez or Crawford

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will defend his unified super middleweight world title against Edgar Berlanga of Puerto Rico this weekend in Las Vegas.

The Mexican was under pressure from his fans to face the man considered by most to be his toughest challenge in the 168-pound division, David Benavidez, as well as his wildcard opponent Terence Crawford, who recently made his debut in a lower weight class and became a world champion in four weight classes.

Instead, he chose number one contender Berlanga, who will go through the ropes undefeated but as a huge underdog. If Canelo wins, both Benavidez and Crawford will still be waiting for their chances, and it is even believed that the latter could end his career if he doesn't land it.

However, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger, the Mexican star has another target in his sights: Dmitry Bivol.

In 2022, Bivol became only the second man to defeat Alvarez after Floyd Mayweather, defending his WBA light heavyweight world title and retaining it via unanimous decision.

At the time, talks about a rematch fell through when Bivol expressed interest in moving down to a lower fight for Canelo's super middleweight belt, while the Mexican only wanted a repeat of the light heavyweight fight.

Next month, Bivol will face the fight of his life against the other champion in his division, the wrecking machine Artur Beterbiev. The winner will be the first undisputed light heavyweight champion since Roy Jones Jr.

Canelo – who usually fights in May and September – told Coppinger that this is the next fight he wants to see.

“When I spoke to Canelo yesterday, he said he wanted to fight Dmitry Bivol next [in May] assuming Bivol defeats Artur Beterbiev on October 12th to win the undisputed light heavyweight championship. And the beauty of this fight, if it happens, is that it's a real departure from Canelo's last three or four fights – this is a fight where Canelo will be a clear underdog… This is a truly epochal fight.”

A lot has to happen before those plans can be solidified, and then it remains to be seen if negotiations run into the same problems. Interestingly, Benavidez is the WBC's mandatory challenger to the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol, who may not only miss out on the fight against Canelo, but also have his latest plan snatched away from him by that same man.

Berlanga will be the first to fight in Sin City on Saturday and will be hoping to thwart Canelo's plans.