KEY POINTS
- Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is set to fight Ilunga Makabu for the WBC cruiserweight title
- Alvarez's head trainer Eddy Reynoso is confident in his pupil's chances against the natural cruiserweight
- Makabu is riding a nine-fight win streak since losing to Tony Bellew back in 2016
Saul âCaneloâ Alvarez's quest for more accolades continues as the WBC approved his side's requests of challenging for the cruiserweight title that is being held by the Congo's Ilunga Makabu in 2022.
Alvarez will need to move up in weight by around 22 pounds to face Makabu as the Mexican pugilist guns for his fifth-division world title.
Speaking with ESPN Deportesâ Salvador Rodriguez, Alvarezâs head trainer Eddy Reynoso is confident in their chances against a natural cruiserweight which is why they asked for the match in the first place after seeing how "Canelo" performed in the sparring sessions against heavyweights.
âWe know that [Makabu] is strong, but Canelo [Saul Alvarez] can beat him. ... Many may say that it is crazy, but they also said that it was crazy when Canelo [Saul Alvarez] was junior middleweight champion and we were looking for middleweights, super middleweight, light heavyweights,â a confident Reynoso explained.
Reynoso also revealed to Rodriguez that the fight will most likely happen in Makabuâs home country of Congo instead of the usual venues at the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
The 31-year-old Alvarez is coming off a watershed moment for Mexican boxing as he became the first-ever undisputed super middleweight champion of the world in his 11th-round knockout victory over Caleb Plant last November 6.
Makabu is coming off a stellar defense of his WBC cruiserweight title against Nigeriaâs Olanrewaju Durodola in December 2020 and is riding a nine-fight win streak since getting knocked out in the third round by Tony Bellew in May 2016 for the then-vacant cruiserweight strap.
According to ESPN, the fight will likely happen at around 190 pounds after they introduced bridgerweight, a new division that has a limit of 224 pounds.
The cruiserweight division will be returning to its original 190-pound limit when it was first put together back in 1979.
Details for Alvarezâs fight against Congoâs Makabu are yet to be released, but boxing fans around the world will surely be keeping an eye out for this one as it will further the Mexicanâs bid to become one of the greatest boxers of his generation.
"I have a lot of confidence in Canelo [Saul Alvarez]. He is very strong and has many qualities, and I know that he is going to win that fight,â Reynoso stated.