Canelo to fight Murata in Japan next?

It looks like there are several options for the next Canelo Alvarez potential mega-fight in May. And, a new report out Wednesday says he might be going to the Far East.

Sports Illustrated boxing Insider and DAZN broadcaster, Chris Mannix, tweeted Wednesday that Alvarez is in serious discussions about fighting Japanese star and WBA “regular” middleweight title holder Ryota Murata:

Representatives for Canelo Alvarez and Ryota Murata are engaged in serious talks to stage a Canelo-Murata fight in Japan in the spring, sources tell @SInow. Murata holds a secondary middleweight title. Canelo has been vocal with his desire to fight in Japan someday.

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 22, 2020

Mannix made very clear that this is just one of the options that Alvarez is looking at, but he named the famed Tokyo Dome, as the possible venue. That is the same site where “Buster” Douglas stunned Mike Tyson for the Heavyweight Championship in February of 1990.

Canelo is seeking an opponent for “Cinco de Mayo” weekend and it has been believed that he would fight in Las Vegas as he has done several times on that weekend in his career. And, that still may very well happen.

Reports have been everywhere about who Canelo’s next opponent might be with some saying that the fight would actually take place at 168 lb. and against WBO Champ, Billy Joe Saunders of England.

As we wrote earlier this week, Alvarez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, refuted that Saunders had already been selected and said that there were several options being discussed.

Murata, 16-2, 13 KOs, initially won the lesser WBA “regular” Middleweight championship with the 7th round TKO against Hassan N’ Jakim in October of 2017. He successfully defended the title once before losing in Las Vegas to Minnesota’s Rob Brandt by 12 round unanimous decision in October of 2018.

Murata recaptured the title in July of 2019, when he destroyed Brandt with a second-round knockout in Osaka, Japan in July of last year. Murata also successfully defended the title for a second time by beating Canada’s Steven Butler on a 5th round TKO four weeks ago.

Alvarez, 53-1-2, was most recently in the ring winning the WBO light heavyweight championship with an 11th round TKO over Sergey Kovalev last November. Canelo has since vacated that title and apparently does not intend to fight any longer at what was the heaviest weight of his career, 175 lb.

Alvarez also holds two middleweight titles and a lesser 168 lb. title.

There is also much anticipation that he might fight former Undisputed, now current IBF, Middleweight champ, Gennady Golovkin in 2020. The fighters fought to a draw in their first fight and Alvarez took the Undisputed title from GGG by 12 round decision in the rematch.