Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will forfeit the annual Cinco de Mayo weekend fight in 2026.
The former undisputed super middleweight champion is the biggest star in Mexican boxing and has therefore dominated Cinco de Mayo weekend dates for the past decade – except in 2018, when a failed drug test forced him to withdraw from a rematch with Gennady Golovkin, and in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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However, in 2026, Alvarez will not fight during the first week of May and his next fight will be pushed back to September, according to Alvarez’s trainer and manager Eddie Reynoso. Alvarez’s decision to skip the May fight clears the way for a May 2 fight between WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez and unified lightweight champion Gilberto “Zuldo” Ramirez, two Mexican-born boxers who will dominate the boxing world over the weekend.
Alvarez underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in October and will need to rest for 12-15 weeks before fully returning to training. “Canelo” was originally scheduled to fight in February as part of his four-fight deal with Riyadh of the season (with two fights remaining), but surgery is expected to delay his return until May. However, Alvarez opted to take an extended break while giving himself more time to negotiate the fight he actually wanted in 2026 – a rematch with Terrence Crawford.
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Last September, Crawford defeated Alvarez via unanimous decision at Allegiant Arena in Las Vegas to become the first undisputed three-weight champion in the four-belt era. The historic fight grossed $47 million, the third-highest total in boxing history, and attracted more than 41 million viewers on Netflix.
Despite the commercial success of the first fight, there was little momentum for a rematch as Crawford’s victory was decisive. Nor will the second meeting – if finalized – be about claiming the undisputed title. Crawford was stripped of his WBC title earlier this month after refusing to pay sanction fees.
