Planning too far ahead is the ultimate fool’s errand, when we’re talking about boxing matches.

Canelo Alvarez  is set to glove up on Feb. 27, and he seems to be confident enough that he will defeat Avni Yildirim that he’s agreed to set up the one after the next one.

Alvarez (54-1-2) will reportedly fight Billy Joe Saunders (30-0), the talented Brit boxer who could/would be the most technically talented athlete that the Mexican has stepped in with. The bout could take place on either May 1 or May 8, according to reporter Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.

DAZN would stream the fight, which would be part of a Matchroom promotion. The 30 year old Alvarez seems to be getting comfortable working with Eddie Hearn following his split from Golden Boy Promotions; now, is he getting too comfortable in his skill set that he’s tempting fate to gum up the works?

THE FACE OF BOXING eh? Hey, it can easily be argued Canelo deserves to own that level of pride. But history has no shortage of examples reminding folks not to plan too far in advance.

Hearn, if this event gets to the finish line, will probably have enjoyed an easier path to that place, because he has all the necessary numbers saved in his cell. Canelo was to meet Saunders last May. The WBO super middle champ Saunders got booked to fight Canelo, as a Cinco de Mayo attraction.

Coronavirus forced a change in plans, though, and this particular can kept getting kicked further down the road.

We’ll do it in June, that was the word, or July.

But it became clear that re-setting big bouts wouldn’t be prudent as waves of COVID kept on wreaking havoc. Alvarez finished last year hitting the re-set button, as he and Golden Boy split.

On Dec. 19 in San Antonio, Texas, Alvarez drew high marks from pretty much every pundit for how he handled Englishman Callum Smith, who was seen as a top tier practitioner.

Canelo made it look like easy work, how he dismantled Callum Smith on Dec. 19. Saunders would be a hard out, we believe.

But Smith looked flat at times during his meeting with Alvarez. And right after the wide loss Callum admitted that making 168 might be too hard a hill for him to climb moving forward. 

Yildirim is not rated as highly by pundits as Smith was, but we all know styles make fights, and maybe the Turkish native is feeling better suited to 168 than Smith was.

For the record, RING has Smith at No. 3 in the 168 class, while Saunders is pegged at No. 5. Alvarez is No. 1, which makes sense, RING has him No. P4P, too. Yildirim isn’t in RING’s top ten. (Click here to get a look at all the RING ratings.)

DAZN isn’t confirming this news, about those supposed May plans for Alavrez. Canelo hasn’t yet referenced it on his social media, though it makes sense, it’s in keeping with his stated aim to stick around at super middleweight, and consolidate the straps. Saunders, too, is talking about other subjects on social media. 

So, all in all, Canelo vs Saunders makes sense, Saunders is seen as a stern test, and Alvarez consistently speaks about wanting to take on the hardest climbs.

Show of hands, please. Who thinks that Saunders would upset Canelo if indeed their reset comes to fruition?

But some words of, if not warning, then to pump the brakes a bit.

COVID is still messing with minds and bodies and lives around the world, anxiety stemming from new variations of the virus is kicking up. The pandemic is still screwing up the best laid plans as it snatches innocents’ lives.

And we presume Yildirim will be mightily amped up to mess up Canelo vs Saunders, yet again.