Canelo Alvarez said he will return to 175 pounds for just one fight, naming a potential opponent he feels has unfinished business against him.

The 35-year-old has not fought since losing his super middleweight title to Terence Crawford, who he moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision in September last year.

“Bud” then announced his retirement a few months later, allowing Christian Mbilla to advance from “interim” to full WBC champion after a 10-round draw with Lester Martinez.

More importantly, however, the Frenchman has since created a lucrative opportunity against Canelo, who is looking to reclaim one of his world titles on September 12 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

If he dethrones Mbilli, the Mexican will likely remain at 168 pounds, perhaps to unify the division against Hamzah Sheeraz or Osleys Iglesias.

However, an opportunity at airy heavyweight could tempt him, especially if it involves a rematch with current unified champion Dmitry Bivol.

The clash occurred in 2022, with Bivol scoring a comprehensive points victory and Canelo, in addition to being undersized for weight, seemed to struggle with the elite technician’s footwork.

Now said Alvarez Ring Magazine that he would happily face the 35-year-old in a bid to exact revenge.

“If I get to 175[lbs]it’s a fight with Bivol. Or maybe he [can] get lower [to 168lbs]”

While their rematch could happen sometime next year, Bivol must first end a 15-month layoff and defeat mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on Saturday.

Bivol is also a target of David Benavidez, who currently holds the WBC 175-pound belt. An undisputed fight could happen within the next twelve months.

Benavidez also called up Canelo for the long-awaited showdown, although it appears the Mexican’s interest has not changed.

File this under press releases that answer questions no one asked. The International Boxing Association announced Monday from its headquarters in Lausanne that it is ready to organize a professional boxing fight for Jon Jones, the former UFC featherlight heavyweight and heavyweight champion. Opponents appeared in the same statement, including Francis Ngannou and Daniel Cormier.

There are a few problems with this.

Jones is still under contract with the UFC. The UFC, owned by TKO Group Holdings, generally does not allow its fighters to accept bookings outside of combat sports, and certainly not those promoted by the Lausanne-based promotion that operates primarily out of Russia. UFC President Dana White continued to refer to Jones as a member of the roster, even though Jones vacated the heavyweight title in 2025 and has not competed since Stipe Miocic’s stoppage at UFC 309 in November 2024.

None of this seems to have slowed down IBA president Umar Kremlev.

“If we’re talking about Jon Jones’ potential transition to boxing, these are the stories we’re interested in,” Kremlev said in a statement. “Jones in the ring against Daniel Cormier or Francis Ngannou, but according to the rules of boxing, these are the fights that the whole world is talking about and waiting for.”

Kremlow added that Jones is scheduled to travel to Russia on June 27 for the IBA Bare Knuckle tournament and that the two will discuss the matter in person.

“It is critical to understand how sedate his plans are to prove himself in boxing,” Kremlov said. “If this interest turns out to be real, IBA will organize an critical event with his participation in Russia.”

The issue of sanctions

The IBA’s role in boxing has diminished significantly in recent years. The International Olympic Committee has stripped the organization of recognition as the sport’s amateur governing body in 2023, and boxing at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles will be managed by World Boxing, which has since secured provisional recognition from the IOC. The IBA continues to operate independently and has organized a number of professional events, most of which took place in Russia.

The IBA is not one of the four sanctioning bodies that regulate professional boxing worldwide. A fight promoted under her banner would have no consequences for the WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO. It also would not appear on any of the major broadcast platforms in North America or Europe that televise significant professional boxing.

In essence, it would be an exhibition combined with a press release.

Opponents

Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, has two professional boxing fights under his belt. He lost a contest decision to Tyson Fury in October 2023 and was stopped in two rounds by Anthony Joshua in March 2024. He has since returned to mixed martial arts under the PFL banner.

Cormier, 47, retired from busy competition in 2020 and has since worked primarily as a UFC analyst. He has no achievements in professional boxing and has not indicated any intention to start one at any stage of his career.

None of the players commented on the IBA proposal. It is unclear whether any of them were asked before the statement was released.

Stan Jones

Jones, widely considered one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, has said in recent interviews that he wants to test himself in boxing, including a potential fight with Ngannou. He has no professional boxing experience. He remains under contract with the UFC once again.

Jones representatives did not publicly respond to the IBA’s statement, which concluded with the organization’s commitment to “world-class, independent and globally anticipated combat sports spectacles.” The struggle currently exists only in this sentence.

“I don’t care if people didn’t know about it, but I knew we had a good chance against this guy,” Verhoeven told Ring Magazine. “I showed that I can fight and box, so I’m ready for anyone. I may not have hurt him, but I definitely surprised him with the way I approached him.”

Customary promoters would likely be interested in matching their heavyweights to Rico as he is now a recognizable name that attracts intrigue and attention. The problem is financial.

A fighter with a 1-1 boxing record who suffered a loss after a break would not typically have a huge guaranteed amount. If promoters pay Rico huge amounts of money and the event doesn’t generate enough pay-per-view purchases or ticket sales to cover both purses, they could lose heavily on the event.

Therefore, the season in Riyadh changes the equation. Saudi-backed events have shown a willingness to finance spectacle fights and absorb risks that time-honored organizers typically avoid. Rico’s value, the controversy surrounding the Usyk fight, and his kickboxing fan base still make him useful in this environment, even without an established boxing record.

Turki Alalshikh has already shown interest in a rematch between Usyk and Verhoeven after Usyk potentially faces WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel next.

If a rematch is indeed part of the plan, it is unlikely that Rico will face risky opponents in the meantime. Pairing him with heavyweights such as Moses Itauma or Frank Sanchez would create unnecessary risks before a possible second fight with Usyk.

A loss to a legitimate challenger could erase the intrigue surrounding Rico’s performance against Usyk and significantly weaken the rematch storyline.

“I only want the biggest fights.” Verhoeven said. “The kickboxing chapter has closed. This is now a fresh chapter. The boxing chapter.”

“The Greatest Fights” are for promotional purposes only brief for greatest controls. At 37 years venerable and coming off an 11th-round loss, he doesn’t have the luxury of time to build a conventional boxing career from scratch.

These “biggest fights” will likely only become realistic if Saudi money is attached to them.

Outside of His Excellency, there is no market for him at the elite level. Customary promoters are not going to shell out millions for a kickboxer who has just been stopped, no matter how competitive he looked on the scorecards before Usyk fired him.

To regular boxing networks, he’s a high-risk, low-reward opponent who brings a unique style but lacks the basic boxing pedigree to draw huge numbers of casual pay-per-view viewers on his own.

If Riyadh Season loses interest in financing this type of glasses, its options will run out immediately. He will either take a dramatic pay cut to take on mid-major fighters on standard cards, or he will realize that the boxing experiment was a short-lived and lucrative venture and end it.

Unless Turki wants to give him a bone in exchange for a rematch or a fight with someone like Agit Kabayel, where else do you think he could turn for that kind of money?