Canelo has Sunday deadline for Smith/Saunders to agree?

The rhetoric is being turned up by the camp of “Canelo” Alvarez in trying to lock down an opponent for his next fight in May. And Canelo’s promoter made it clear that he’s given a Sunday deadline to two possible English challengers.

Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions appeared on Friday night during the DAZN streaming service live broadcast from Anaheim, California, about the prospects of Alvarez’s next fight and made clear they’re ready to move on:

Who will @Canelo fight next?@OscarDeLaHoya gives us an update ? pic.twitter.com/dWKt0KKhXi

— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) February 15, 2020

“Well, there’s been multiple offers out there. They’re all on the table. Everybody talks a big game. ‘I want Canelo.’ …That’s ‘BS.’ Nobody wants to fight Canelo. They’re all afraid of him.”

Then, host Chris Mannix asked about a possible deadline for two fighters, Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, to agree?

“If you guys don’t take it, we’re moving on. We are fighting in May… Time is running out. I have until Sunday…Monday the latest or else? I’m moving on.”

This follows De La Hoya essentially saying earlier in the week that WBA 168 lb. champion Smith has turned down what would be the highest pay day of his career to fight Canelo.

Further, Smith and WBO 168 lb Champion, Saunders of England are under the promtional control of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. And, to this point apparently on Hearn’s advice, neither has apparently been willing to agree Two Step through the ropes with Canelo

Alvarez and Golden Boy have also been negotiating with Japanese WBA “regular” 160 lb champ Ryota Murata about a possible fight in the Far East. However, no deal has been reached with Murata and it is much more likely that Alvarez wants to fight on “Cinco de Mayo” weekend in Las Vegas, like he has done several times in his career.

This includes, his 12-round decision win over Daniel Jacobs in a middleweight title clash last year.

One more factor is the icy relationship between Alvarez and De La Hoya, which began last summer when Golden Boy Promotions failed to secure a middleweight title fight for him. And, the IBF stripped him of their version of the 160-pound championship. Eventually, De La Hoya and Golden Boy convinced Canelo to move up and take on a light heavyweight challenge.

Alvarez then fought on November 2nd, when he knocked out WBO Champion Sergey Kovalev (above) in the 11th round. It’s not believed that Alvarez will pursue fighting any longer at the 175 lb. heavier weight, but rather at either 160 or 168 lb.

Now, we wait to see if Smith or Saunders really want to agree by the De La Hoya deadline or not?