Canelo Alvarez has surprisingly not booked Cinco de Mayo as his next fight in 2026. It leaves the vacation to ‘The Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez to take it. He already revealed that he’ll be fighting WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on May 2, 2026.
Is This PPV-Worthy?
Benavidez-Ramirez isn’t a large enough fight to match what Canelo would bring to the Cinco de Mayo date. It’s a good fight, but not interesting enough to get fans desirous to purchase it on PPV. Without Canelo, the Cinco de Mayo date in 2026 shall be drab.
Benavidez Needs a Star
Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) needs someone more interesting as his opponent for Cinco de Mayo to draw fans throughout the U.S on May 2, 2026. Zurdo Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) has did not change into a crossover star in the USA, primarily on account of the weak matchmaking that his various promoters have done throughout his 16-year pro profession.
The perception is that Gilberto has been protected all along, shielded from the wolves to construct a plastic record to make him a pseudo-star for money-making purposes. While it’s worked to a lesser extent, it’s hurt his popularity in the long term because he never fought the massive names.
The Real Cinco de Mayo Options
- Dmitry Bivol
- Terence Crawford
- Artur Beterbiev
- Jai Opetaia
- Canelo Alvarez
Crawford: The Dream — But Won’t Occur
Crawford could be the perfect opponent for ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez to fight on Cinco de Mayo. There’s little or no likelihood that Bud would conform to fight him.
Although Crawford says he desires to be among the many all-time greats on the Mount Rushmore of boxing, he’s not shown the identical risk-taking courage that greats like Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Louis did. He should say yes to a fight against Benavidez for Cinco de Mayo in 2026, but he’s not going to do it. He’s protecting that O.
Why Canelo Isn’t Fighting
Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) has fought on Cinco de Mayo in five of the last six years. So for him to not have already booked the vacation in 2026, it’s a surprise. There’s more attention for him to receive and money. He’s coming off a crushing defeat against Terence Crawford on September thirteenth and has been coping with an elbow injury.
Canelo’s earnings for the ‘Fight of the Century’ against Crawford were over $100 million. So, perhaps the necessity for him to fight on Cinco de Mayo is less critical. It’s believed the 2 are in negotiations for a rematch, which could are available September 2026. That may be one other gigantic payday for Alvarez, especially if Turki Alalshikh is the one financing it.
“The million-dollar query: Who fights on CINCO DE MAYO? With Canelo Álvarez without anything official, nobody knows yet who will find yourself with this date, so essential for Mexican boxing. For now, two promoters have already reserved Las Vegas for that date,” said Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout on X.
Last Updated on 12/10/2025