It's almost a taken-for-granted tradition lately that boxing star Canelo Alvarez will test his skills against an elite opponent on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Consider this year to be a break from tradition.

In a surprise announcement, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Alvarez issued a statement indicating that they have made the strategic decision to postpone their typical September bout and instead fight later in 2019.

"As a Mexican, it's a responsibility and an honor to represent my country in both May and September," said Canelo Alvarez. "Those are my dates. However, as a world champion in multiple weight classes, I also have the responsibility of delivering the most exciting and competitive fights possible. That's why Golden Boy and my team have decided to postpone the date in order to do right by my fans by promoting the best fight possible and with the best opponent possible."

There are several factors at play in this decision.  First, Canelo apparently was not interested in facing rival Gennady Golovkin for a third bout -- at least not in September -- as there remains some bad blood between the two.  Second, other outlets have reported that Canelo is considering jumping up two weight classes to take on powerful Sergey Kovalev, but in order to do so, that type of challenge would require additional time to properly prepare for the fight.

More importantly, however, Canelo's deal with DAZN perhaps entangled him a bit, as he not only must work with other DAZN fighters in order to simplify negotiations, but also is arguably under some pressure from the streaming service to battle high-caliber opposition each time he enters the ring.  Finding a boxer of that status so late in the summer apparently was becoming problematic.

According to the release, "the decision was made in an effort to secure the right opponent and to do justice to the level of promotion required for a boxing star of his magnitude.  Though Canelo typically fights in May and September, it is not without precedent to fight later in the year as Canelo did fight in December of 2018 in Madison Square Garden. Canelo's next fight will now take place later in 2019."

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com