For Canelo Alvarez's next fight, the WBC has created a special championship.
The Mexican superstar has been out of the ring since his trilogy bout with Gennadiy Golovkin last September. In that outing, Alvarez scored his second decision victory over 'GGG', ending his rivalry with him in the process.
Just a few short months on from that victory, the super-middleweight champion is set to face John Ryder next month. 'The Gorilla' won the WBO interim super-middleweight title with a win over Zach Parker, netting him an unlikely unification bout.
With all the gold on the line next month in Mexico, the WBC has decided to add some more. Earlier today, the council announced that they would put a special Puebla-Jalisco title on the line for the clash in May. While some fans are understandably not looking forward to another title in the sport, this one is just for show.
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It's also far from the first time that the council has done a celebratory championship for a big event. For example, in 2017, the WBC put the "Money Belt" on the line for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.
See the WBC Puebla-Jalisco championship in the post below:
Canelo Alvarez next fight: Mexican superstar discusses healing from surgery
Ahead of Canelo Alvarez's next fight, the super-middleweight champion is feeling good.
While it wasn't widely reported at the time, the Mexican fighter was essentially a one-armed man last year. Prior to his May showdown against Dmitry Bivol, Alvarez broke his left hand but decided to fight on anyways.
He would later suffer a lopsided decision against the Russian and even defeated Gennadiy Golovkin later that year. Following his win over 'GGG', Alvarez announced his plans to take time off. The champion was reportedly expected to miss upwards of a year.
Instead, Canelo Alvarez is set to return next month against John Ryder. In a recent interview with TUDN discussing his hand surgery, he admitted that he's just grateful to punch with both hands. In the interview, he stated:
"[I'm training] very well [without injuries], that motivates me a lot, I am available to train at 100%, to hit with my left hand, before with the experience there you go out training, fights with only one hand, but now having the opportunity to be at 100% motivates me a lot. The left hand normally, out of every ten punches you throw six, you need a lot."