Last September, Canelo suffered a shock defeat when he was beaten for the third time as Terence Crawford produced a brilliant display to become undisputed super-middleweight champion . 

Canelo had begun the fight a decent favourite, but he was unable to match Crawford throughout large portions of the fight as he went down on the scorecards. 

With Canelo hoping land a rematch against the Nebraska man, his plans were thrown up in the air in December when Crawford announced that he would be walking away from the sport.  

With his main rival now retired, Canelo will need another dance partner later this year and that could mean he is focusing on the likes of Christian Mbilli, Hamzah Sheeraz, and Chris Eubank Jr. 

With plenty of options in front of him due to super-middleweight set to crown a series of new world champion following Crawford’s departure, Andre Berto, a former world champion who faced Floyd Mayweather in 2015, has urged caution regarding one possible foe. 

"Mbilli is dangerous and violent. He isn't gonna care about your health and not gonna care about his either,” said Berto when speaking on Inside the Ring . 

"Is that the type of fight Canelo wants coming off that loss? I just don't think that would be a smart fight."

Watch López  vs. Stevenson only on DAZN PPV

Teofimo López and Shakur Stevenson headline the Ring VI fight night in New York, exclusively on DAZN PPV, on January 31, 2026.

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