Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has finally made his choice.

The three-division titlist and pound-for-pound entrant has settled on unbeaten super middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders as his next opponent, multiple sources have confirmed to BoxingScene.com. The two will collide May 2 live on DAZN from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo weekend and with Saunders’ 168-pound title at stake.

“Está listo por mayo, mayo 2 (He is ready for May, May 2),” Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s head trainer confirmed to ESNews’ Elie Seckbach, who was first to report the fight as being finalized and confirming they have settled on an opponent. “Si, Billy Joe Saunders.”

An official announcement has yet to be made on the fight, not acknowledgement from any parties involved that the matchup has been finalized.

The hunt for an opponent has remained among boxing’s most monitored topics, given the immense popularity of Mexico’s Alvarez and the life-changing payday that comes along with such a fight. Eight-figure purses collected by then-middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs and then-light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev as Alvarez opponents in 2019 has resulted in future candidates expecting similar compensation.

Still, the list has been reduced in the past month to just two boxers—Saunders and Callum Smith, both of whom are unbeaten titlists at super middleweight, where Alvarez plans to make a run for a fourth divisional title (his 3rd round knockout of Rocky Fielding to win a secondary 168-pound title in December 2018  notwithstanding). As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, the choice was changing daily according to promoter Eddie Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing outfit represents both boxers.

The preference was always Saunders (29-0, 14KOs), a 30-year old southpaw from Hatfield, England who has long clamored for the fight but also refused to leave money on the table during extensive talks. His stance kept his countryman in the running, but only after Liverpool’s Smith (27-0, 19KOs) lowered his asking price in hopes of landing the lucrative assignment.

Saunders will now have a second chance at leaving a more favorable impression among American viewers. His stateside debut last November produced uneven results, struggling for several rounds and having to rally in order to thrice drop and eventually stop Argentina’s Marcelo Coceres last November in Los Angeles. The win marked the first defense of the super middleweight title he collected in a 12-round win over Shefat Isufi last May in Stevenage, England, just outside his Hatfield hometown.

Saunders became a two-division titlist with the victory, having reigned as a middleweight titlist for nearly three years. His reign ended with the southpaw being stripped of his belt after testing positive for a banned substance ahead of an abandoned October 2018 title defense versus Demetrius Andrade, which was due to serve as his original U.S. debut.

Interestingly, it came just months after Alvarez (52-1-2, 36KOs) endured a drug testing scandal of his own. The fighting pride of Guadalajara, Mexico tested positive for trace amounts of Clenbuterol, for which he was able to provide evidence as being the result of consumption of tainted meat which remains an epidemic in his home country. The alibi was partially accepted, though still resulting in a six-month suspension and delay in his planned rematch with then-unbeaten Gennadiy Golovkin.

Their rematch eventually took place in September 2018, one year after the two battled to a disputed 12-round draw and this time with Alvarez taking a 12-round majority decision. The two bouts took place at T-Mobile Arena, which he helped christen with a May 2016 knockout win over Amir Khan in the first-ever boxing event to take place at the venue. Alvarez will make his sixth career appearance at the site, having last fought there in a 12-round win over Jacobs (36-3, 30KOs) to unify three middleweight belts while defending his lineal championship.

The win was followed by Alvarez becoming just the fourth male boxer in history to win titles at junior middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. The feat came courtesy of an 11th round stoppage of Russia’s Kovalev last November, though the reign lasting less than two months as he vacated his title last December.

From there came speculation over the weight at which his next fight would take place. It was agreed that a drop to 168 would far better suit his frame than a full-blown return to middleweight. With that came the pared down candidate list for his next assignment, which—pending official confirmation—is now down to one.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox