Who will Canelo Alvarez fight next? Crawford, Eubank Jr. or Jake Paul options after William Scull undisputed clash

Dom Farrell

Who will Canelo Alvarez fight next? Crawford, Eubank Jr. or Jake Paul options after William Scull undisputed clash image

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is boxing to reunite the major super middleweight titles when he faces William Scull in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is the WBC, WBA. IBF and Ring Magazine champion at 168 pounds. He vacated the IBF belt before his fight with Edgar Berlanga last September.

Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) outlasted the previously undefeated Vladimir Shishkin in his adopted homeland of Germany last October and now gets his shot at the main man.

This is Canelo's first fight since aligning himself with Riyadh Season, with the clear imperative from Turki Alalshikh to become the undisputed champion once again to underpin some pending superfights.

Here are three sharply contrasting but hugely lucrative options for the Mexican fighting icon.

WATCH: Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull on DAZN

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford

When this fight was first floated a couple of years ago and former undisputed super lightweight champion Crawford had never campaigned above welterweight, it felt somewhere between fanciful and nonsensical.

But the masterful American topped the bill at Riyadh Season's maiden US show in Las Vegas last August, beating Israil Madrimov in a competitive fight at 154 pounds. That leaves a couple of divisions still to surf but Crawford clearly wants the work and the chance to become an unprecedented three-weight undisputed champion.

Terence Crawford tested by Israil Madrimov
Mark Robinson/ Matchroom Boxing

Canelo Alvarez vs. Chris Eubank Jr.

Despite plenty of indications that Crawford is ready to be Alvarez's next opponent, if 'Bud' wants a little more time to acclimatise to the heavier weight classes, a blockbuster showdown with Eubank Jr. at a packed Wembley Stadium would be a pretty handy alternative.

Eubank has been spoken about as a potential dance partner for Canelo for years and his stock has never been higher since his thrilling generational grudge-match victory over Conor Benn.  The 35-year-old's struggles to boil down to the middleweight limit were well-documented during the build-up and if Eubank decides to move up to 168 pounds then the Canelo fight feels natural.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Jake Paul

From boxing purists to your average fans of self-respect and dignity, plenty will howl "please. God, no!" at this. But we have to be realistic. There are various claims and counter-claims over how advanced discussions were for Canelo to fight YouTuber Paul before he took the Scull fight, but the lines of communication are clearly open.

This fight makes at least as much money as bouts with Crawford or Eubank, very possibly more. And, of course, Canelo would win it at a canter using one hand if he wanted to. It's a sign of the times that such a fight is viable and must be considered part of the conversation. Paul faces former Canelo foe Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June and it's not particularly hard to see why this route appeals to him.

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Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.