Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s recent defeat will be followed with a delay, according to a report by Mike Coppinger of The Ring magazine.
Alvarez suffered the third defeat of his career on September 13, falling to the brilliant Terence “Bud” Crawford in a competitive yet clear unanimous decision. Alvarez is fairly active among top fighters and was slated to return to the ring in February 2026. According to Coppinger, though, Canelo’s body won’t allow it.
“I’m told that he’s going to have elbow surgery,” said Coppinger, co-hosting a recent episode of Inside The Ring. Coppinger elaborated later that Turki Alalshikh, who owns The Ring, did the telling.
“[Canelo] was set to return in February in Riyadh for the third fight of that deal,” Coppinger continued, referring to the four-fight deal Alvarez signed with Riyadh Season in February. “That fight is now gonna be delayed until Q2 or Q3 of 2026.”
Coppinger’s co-host, Max Kellerman, subsequently clarified for viewers not in the know that “Q2 or Q3” means anytime from April through September, which would leave Alvarez’s favored fighting dates of Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day as potential return options.
Given the significant attention vacuum left by Alvarez’s absence, Coppinger said that Alalshikh is assembling a February supercard and is eying David Benavidez and Devin Haney for spots on the show if both perform well in their respective fights on November 22 in Riyadh. Benavidez is defending his WBC light heavyweight title against Anthony Yarde while Haney is challenging WBO welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jnr.
