After losing his undisputed super middleweight titles, there has been a lot of talk about what is next for Canelo Alvarez.
Some have suggested in recent weeks that Alvarez should retire, which Floyd Mayweather recently commented on.
The 35-year-old has already achieved an incredible career as the face of boxing for many years.
However, the Mexican star still has several fights left to complete on his deal with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh.
There have been plenty of names put forward for Alvarez’s final few fights, but whoever it is that will face him next will need to wait a bit longer than initially expected.
- LATEST NEWS: Dana White issues definitive response to the rumor he is trying to change boxing’s Muhammad Ali Act
Canelo Alvarez set to miss initially planned return timeframe due to elbow surgery
On September 13, Canelo Alvarez was defeated by Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
While the manner of the defeat led to some questioning how much longer his career will continue, his star status still means that there are some big fights out there for him.
The original plan, as some of Alvarez’s potential opponents have made reference to, was for him to return to the ring in Riyadh around February of next year.
However, as is often the case in combat sports, this long-term plan has been forced into an adjustment due to a new update.
Mike Coppinger revealed on Inside The Ring that Alvarez is set to undergo an elbow surgery that will remove the chance of him fighting in the first quarter of 2026.
“I’m told that he’s going to have elbow surgery. He was set to return in February, in Riyadh, for the third fight of that deal. That fight is now going to be delayed until Q2 or Q3 of 2026. So Canelo’s going to have the surgery and then he’ll come back.”
- LATEST NEWS: Fedor Emelianenko’s coach gives honest assessment of Oleksandr Usyk’s MMA chances amid Jake Paul talks
Canelo Alvarez’s former promoter believes that it has been around 8 years since he was at his best
In an interview with The Ring shortly after the fight, Eddie Hearn gave his thoughts on Canelo Alvarez’s latest bout.
Hearn previously worked as the Mexican star’s promoter at Matchroom Boxing, where he put together some huge fights for the face of the sport.
The promoter stated in the interview that, in his opinion, he doesn’t think Alvarez is the same fighter anymore, and he thinks that the boxing icon is aware of this.
“Canelo’s nowhere near the fighter he once was. I’m talking particularly maybe around Golovkin 1 and that kind of time… When you start saying, ‘My body just can’t do it anymore. It can’t.’ That’s a tell-tale sign that he knows that physically, he’s just not the same.”
The 69th fight of his incredible pro career could end up coming once Alvarez has already turned 36 on July 18.