Canelo Alvarez in ‘advanced talks’ over Gennady Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol fights, says Eddie Hearn

The Mexican could fight undefeated Russian Bivol next before facing Golovkin for the third time

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (left) and rival Gennady Golovkin have fought one another twice (AP)

Eddie Hearn has said he is in “advanced talks” with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez over a two-fight deal that would see the multiple-weight champion face Dmitry Bivol then Gennady Golovkin.

Matchroom promoter Hearn works with streaming platform DAZN, which has a long-term deal with Alvarez.

Mexican Canelo last fought on Showtime, however, stopping Caleb Plant in the 11th round in November to become the first ever undisputed super-middleweight champion.

The 31-year-old had been linked with a move up to cruiserweight to challenge WBC title holder Ilunga Makubu, but Hearn suggested that the bout is now unlikely to take place. Instead, Alvarez seems set to take on undefeated Russian Bivol at light heavyweight.

Should Alvarez win that potential contest, he could follow it with a trilogy fight against Golovkin. The Mexican drew with the Kazakh in 2017 before outpointing him in 2018, though both results were controversial – with most fans believing Golovkin should have been awarded a win in the first bout and potentially in the second, too.

“There’s nothing signed, that’s still the case now,” Hearn told iFL TV this week regarding a potential two-fight deal with Golovkin. “Yes, we are in advanced talks with Canelo Avarez. Yes, it would be huge for me personally, for Matchroom, for DAZN to work with Canelo Alvarez again.

Alvarez stopped Caleb Plant in his last outing, in November (Getty)

“I’ll do everything I can to try and secure that, but it’s going to be a decision made by Saul and [trainer] Eddy Reynoso. I feel like we’ve presented him with a great opportunity, and hopefully we get the opportunity to work again – because he’s the pound-for-pound No1, the biggest star in this sport.”

Hearn did, however, confirm that Bivol and Golovkin would likely be Alvarez’s opponents for those two fights.

“Yeah,” Hearn said, “he’s still planning to make that fight [with Bivol] in April. Canelo has to beat Bivol and Golovkin has to beat [Ryoto] Murata, and if that’s the case then you’ve got a mega-fight on your hands later in the year.

“But all the focus should be on the individual fights that those guys have. If Canelo fights Bivol, that’s a tough, tough fight.”

Golovkin, who turns 40 in April, was scheduled to fight Murata in December, though the bout was delayed due to Covid restrictions. It is now expected to take place in April.