Saul Alvarez will take on Austin Trout in a light-middleweight unification fight in San Antonio on April 20, it has been confirmed.
‘Canelo’ will put his WBC title on the line in his toughest assignment to date against the WBA champion, with the duo’s unbeaten records also in jeopardy.
The fight had been scheduled to be on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s clash with Robert Guerrero on May 4, with the winner set to take on Mayweather in September should he stay undefeated.
However, in the end Mayweather did not want to commit and therefore Alvarez was unhappy to cede his status as headline act.
Trout, who defeated Miguel Cotto in December to set up the unification fight, paid tribute to Alvarez for putting his record on the line.
“Canelo put his foot down and said this was the fight he wanted,” he told ESPN.com. “He said he was ready. God bless him. I’m here to show the world he’s not.
“But he made the people who work for him make it happen, and boxing and the fans thank him.”
Alvarez is one of the hottest properties in boxing, having racked up a 41-0 record with one drawn at just 22.
However, despite five title defences he is keen to prove wrong his detractors who say his record has been protected by taking easy fights.
He claimed the vacant strap two years ago when beating Matthew Hatton, while his first defence was against another Briton, Ryan Rhodes.
Recent victories over a washed-up Shane Mosley and a much-smaller Josesito Lopez have done little to appease his critics.