Canelo Alvarez planning four fights this year including Yildirim, Saunders and defending titles twice at end of 2021

CANELO ALVAREZ is planning four world title fights this year and wants to unify the super-middleweight division.

The Mexican is back in action is just over two weeks when he fights mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim.

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Canelo is a huge odds on favourite to make a successful defence of his WBA and WBC titles against a man who was knocked out by Chris Eubank Jr in 2017.

And according to , the 30-year-old will have three more fights before the year is out.

And that would mean a total of five bouts in 12 months, as Canelo easily defeated Liverpool's Callum Smith in December.

As long as Canelo gets past Yildirim, he is then slated to fight WBO super-middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders on May 8.

The pair were one day away from announcing this fight last year, before the pandemic floored it, but promoter Eddie Hearn has helped resurrect the deal.

Then the four-weight world champ wants to be back in the squared circle again in September and December.

Caleb Plant is the other belt-holder in the weight division, and Canelo has already paid the American a lot of respect ahead of a potential undisputed clash.

The Smith win was Canelo's only fight of 2020, due to the pandemic and his stand-off with former promoters Golden Boy.

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But the newly free agent is now on a spree as he aims to become undisputed champion.

Two-weight champ Saunders is 30-0 but is craving a career-defining fight and plenty inside boxing believe his slickest of skills might make him the best candidate to stop the Canelo steam train.

Saunders beat Martin Murray into retirement on December 5 in the sort of underwhelming match-up that has dogged his career.

But now he has got his big chance - and friend and fellow boxing champion Tyson Fury thinks he is ready to shock the world.

The Gyspsy King, who is in talks for his own undisputed scrap against Anthony Joshua, told : “He needs to be active and he will punch Canelo Alvarez all around the ring.

"Canelo Alvarez’s kryptonite is someone who boxes and moves — southpaw, slick, good feet, good hand speed, good power.

"Billy Joe Saunders does all of that, but he needs to be active.”