Canelo-Plant being revisited for November, Bivol likely still in mix

Canelo needs a fight for November, and what we get then may be what was expected for September.

With Canelo Alvarez now targeting a November return and scrapping any plans for Sept. 18, the possibility that he could still face Caleb Plant for the undisputed super middleweight championship is back on the table, and a bout with 175 lb titlist Dmitry Bivol is also still alive.

ESPN KnockOut says that there is a “new attempt” to do Canelo-Plant, which fell apart in negotiations recently. It was always possible that would be revisited later, and with Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KO) now not trying to secure a fight for six weeks from now, there’s time to talk, hash things out, and get the fight done. It’s still something Canelo wants, as Plant (21-0, 12 KO) has the IBF 168 lb title, the only piece of the pie that Alvarez doesn’t already hold.

But Bivol (18-0, 11 KO), the WBA light heavyweight titlist, is also still a possibility. The 30-year-old Russian reportedly agreed to a 172 lb catchweight fight with Canelo, with manager Vadim Kornilov telling ESPN that the deal was done two weeks ago on their side, and they also believe the boxing public would rather see Canelo-Bivol than Canelo-Plant:

At this point, it seems most likely that things will be hashed out between Team Canelo and Premier Boxing Champions, who represent Plant, and that we will indeed get that undisputed fight. But “most likely” is no guarantee; that was always the most likely fight for Sept. 18, too, and now there’s just no Canelo fight on that date. Bivol remains a real possibility, and there are probably wild cards out there. Canelo has certainly thrown some curveballs that nobody really saw coming in his career — fights with Amir Khan and Rocky Fielding, notably — so you never know until it’s official.