Canelo Alvarez admits it is unlikely he could ever face the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua at heavyweight - but Eddie Hearn thinks otherwise.
The Mexican superstar is ranked as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world with a record of 57-1-2 and stands undefeated since 2013, when he lost to Floyd Mayweather.
Canelo is moving up to cruiserweight for his next fight, against the current WBC champion Ilunga Makabu, having knocked out Caleb Plant in the 11th round earlier this month to become boxing’s first ever unified super-middleweight champion.
But Canelo admits going one step further to move up to heavyweight would likely be too much even for him.
“A year ago, I said no to cruiserweight and here we are. Therefore, I don’t think so, but I don’t know with Eddy sometimes… My body wouldn’t allow that to happen,” he said.
But Hearn believes the 31-year-old has it in his locker to mix it with the likes of Fury, Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk in the ring.
“Listen, he could move up and fight at heavyweight,” the promoter told iFL TV. “I mean, Usyk’s not a massive heavyweight, Trevor Bryant’s a world champion as well. Can he compete against those guys?”
Hearn added: "Cruiserweight first, maybe. But I like the fight against Makabu. I think it's a dangerous fight, I think it's an exciting fight and as I said, Saul and Eddie are interested in making history.
"They're not interested in having normal, boring fights. Every fight has to mean something."
Fury is currently considering his options after defeating Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight in October.
The heavyweight champion was expected to face Dillian Whyte early next year but the WBC have not yet ordered the fight due to an ongoing legal issue with Londoner Whyte.
