Mexican fighter Canelo Alvarez’s tradition of fighting around Cinco de Mayo is taking a hiatus, according to his trainer Eddy Reynoso, as the 35-year-old is angling toward a rematch against Terence Crawford around Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16.
Alvarez has fought within a week of May 5, a Mexican-American celebration of Mexico’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, every year except the COVID year of 2020, going back to 2019. He has fought 12 times around Cinco de Mayo, dating back to 2007.
Alvarez had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in October to clean out loose particles following his fight against Crawford.
In 2025, he defeated William Skull on May 3 before losing to Crawford on Sept. 13 for the super middleweight title.
Alvarez has fought 14 times in September since 2006, and every year since 2022. Mexico’s Día de la Independencia is a bigger holiday in that country than Cinco de Mayo.
The fight with Crawford does have a stumbling block, as he retired on Dec. 16, but as often happens with boxers, he left open a return, and talks have been widely reported between the Crawford and Alvarez camps.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Canelo Alvarez not fighting on Cinco De Mayo, eyes September bout
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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