After a strong performance on Saturday night against Ryan Rhodes, Saul Alvarez’s team is already weighing options for their next move on a path to super stardom.
Alvarez dominated Rhodes over twelve rounds en route to a stoppage victory in his home state of Jalisco, Mexico, before a reported 12,000 fans.
Names such as veteran Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, fellow up and coming Mexican hero Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, and even the laughable mention of Ricardo Mayorga have been discussed as the next opponent for the twenty-year old Alvarez.
[Follow all of my articles and columns via Facebook. – R.L.]
Promoted by Los Angeles based Golden Boy Promotions, Alvarez has the fan following in Mexico to propel himself into an international star, but “Canelo” has yet to be truly tested in the ring.
Having feasted on older fighters, and in some cases under-sized foes (see Lovemore N’Dou and Matthew Hatton), during his last four outings – fans, experts, and Golden Boy Promotions are starting to wonder how viable of a commodity Alvarez is inside the ring. Advertisement
28 year old slugger Alfreo “El Perro” Angulo could give the boxing world keen insight on the skills of Alvarez. Though inactive for nearly a year because of immigration issues that do not allow him to travel from Mexico to the United States, Alvarez has the punching power and vigor to expose Alvarez’s true grit.
Bout with Cotto and Chavez Junior are highly unlikely, as Top Rank Promotions have the rights to those fighters and are exploring the possibility of pitting the pair together. As for Mayorga, the mention of the Nicaraguan loud mouth is laughable – having lost five of his last nine bouts.
Alvarez – Angulo could sell tickets in Mexico, bring in viewers in the Aztec nation, and likely be picked up by HBO – which seems to be in the business of promoting Alvarez as a boxing television star.
As for Angulo, “Perro” was ring side on Saturday night and made it clear that he is open to an encounter.
“All he has to do is tell me I have the fight,” said Angulo.
Boxing fans would not only have a truth session regarding Alvarez, but also a heck of a fight if Angulo gets a crack at “Canelo”.
