The Athletic was first to report that Canelo Alvarez is making his return to the ring after his divorce from Golden Boy. Alvarez will be taking on Callum Smith on December 19th on DAZN, an entity that he had sued just two months earlier.
Alvarez made the official announcement on his Instagram account. The undefeated Smith last fought in November 2019 when he defeated John Ryder via unanimous decision to retain the WBA (Super) and The Ring super-middleweight titles.
🇲🇽 Este 19 de diciembre será mi regreso al ring para enfrentarme a Callum Smith.
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) November 17, 2020
🇺🇸 I'll be returning to the ring on December 19th to face Callum Smith. #TheP4PKingIsBack #CaneloSmith pic.twitter.com/HDJqK44JOF
Alvarez hasn’t been in the ring since last November when he defeated Sergey Kovalev. The 30-year-old has been itching to get back into the ring which precipitated a lawsuit between Golden Boy and DAZN.
According to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, Alvarez signed a one-fight deal with Eddie Hearn to fight Smith at 168 pounds.
While no venue is set, there is speculation that it would happen at Cowboys Stadium as this past October it held the PPV event between Gervonta Davis and Leo Santa Cruz before fans.
Payout Perspective:
Is it possible that DAZN made off as the winners in the Canelo lawsuit? Despite being brought into litigation, it still will reap the benefits of a Canelo fight this year. The one-off contract for Canelo via Eddie Hearn is something that Alvarez likely to do as he decides on his next long-term move. But first, he can get back into the ring. Smith is viable challenger and is undefeated. With this being globally on DAZN and not on SkySport in the UK, its another W for the over the top platform.
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