Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez does not have any problem serving as the sport’s cash cow.

The time has come, however, for others to start doing their part.

News of Guadalajara’s Alvarez (57-1-2, 39KOs) deciding to next challenge WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol figures to have a ripple effect across the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The matchup kicks off a lucrative deal of at least two fights with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN, having fielded a similar offer from Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) which would have kept him on Showtime Pay-Per-View where he stopped Caleb Plant in the 11th round to become undisputed super middleweight champion last November.

The renewed deal with Matchroom and DAZN will begin May 7 on the sports streaming platform’s PPV arm, when Alvarez faces Bivol (19-0, 11KOs) at a location to be determined. From there, the plan is to return on September 17—in celebration of Mexican Independence Day—and possibly a third fight on the year in December.

Whatever comes of his 2022 campaign, there simply isn’t room for everyone waiting in line for a shot at the pound-for-pound and box office king.

“Everybody want to fight me,” Alvarez told ESNews’ Elie Sekbach. “They have many options too. Why don’t they fight each other? They need to. This year, I’m busy.”

The considered deal with PBC began as a one-off fight in May, where Alvarez would have faced WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22KOs) who would move up to super middleweight for the fight. A counteroffer from PBC—once Matchroom and DAZN upped the ante—would have seen Alvarez face Charlo as well as unbeaten former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs).

Both fights would have seen Alvarez defend his super middleweight crown. The fight with Bivol will mark the second trip to light heavyweight for the Mexican superstar, who views the move as the first step toward aspirations of becoming undisputed light heavyweight king.

“Whatever option for me, the money is there. It’s a lot of money,” admits Alvarez, already a multimillionaire many times over. “I just want to make history. This time, Bivol offered me [to fight for the] world championship at 175. It’s a good fight. I just want to make history. The money is there already. I care about my legacy.”

Sometime after Alvarez-Bivol is supposed to come the unification bout between lineal/WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17KOs) and WBO titlist Joe Smith (28-3, 22KOs). Such a fight would save Alvarez a few steps in having to chase all of the light heavyweight belts, whereas he fought every available super middleweight titlist—Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant—to become the division’s king over a four-fight, eleven-month stretch.

This time around, Alvarez seems to prefer a quicker—though still challenging—path on the road to boxing immortality.

“I’m okay with fighting anybody,” insists Alvarez. “But they need to fight each other. They want to fight me because they want good payday. I know that. They need to fight each other and I fight the winner of all of them.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox