Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez once again impressed in stopping Ryan Rhodes over the weekend in defense of his WBC light middleweight title, dominating the British veteran on the way to a twelfth round stoppage and his 37th career win.
With his first title defense out of the way and another test passed by Alvarez, thoughts quickly turned to who he might face next. In his post fight interview several names were mentioned to Canelo, who simply stated that he was ready to fight anyone and that he would return in September.
While promoters Golden Boy might not be quite so eager to match him against the elite of the division just yet however, there remain several possibilities a clear step above the likes of Rhodes or previous opponent Matthew Hatton.
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Talking to fans through his twitter account, the two names mentioned by Oscar De La Hoya were Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (43-0, 30KOs) and Alfredo Angulo (19-1, 16KOs):
“I would make Canelo vs Chavez jr anytime at 154 pounds”
“Ok let’s say I do throw him In with angulo and beats him.who ever comes up with the best excuse of why angulo lost gets a golden boy tshirt”
Whether De La Hoya would really risk Canelo against Chavez Jr at this stage of his career or not however, there isn’t any reason to assume that Chavez’s promoter Bob Arum would be willing to take the same risk.
A bout between the two would undoubtedly be much more lucrative in three or four years time so long as both keep winning than it would be today.
That isn’t even to mention the fact that Chavez Jr currently holds a belt at middleweight, and is likely well past the days when dropping back down in weight were a possibility.
Canelo on the other hand is only now fighting at full light middleweight and against actual light middleweight opponents rather than blown up welterweights, so for the time being at least the size difference would also be a significant issue.
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The other name mentioned by De La Hoya, Alfredo Angulo is ranked at no.2 by the WBC, behind only Vanes Martirosyan, although because of his promotional allegiance is a much more likely option than the fast rising Armenian.
Angulo has also been on the shelf for close to a year however, initially after turning down a fight with Sergio Martinez and subsequently due to visa issues.
Currently it isn’t clear whether he is eligible to fight in the United States, although against Alvarez this wouldn’t likely be a problem anyway given that the fight would probably be staged in Mexico
Angulo is set to return to the ring in August in Mexico, against an as yet unknown opponent, and would represent another impressive step up in competition for Alvarez. And although Alvarez would be the favorite, Anguelo would pose a risk with his power and aggression, and is ranked higher than Canelo on most light middleweight lists.
The most strongly rumored opponent at the moment however is Nicaraguan wild-man Ricardo Mayorga, who was stopped in the last round against Miguel Cotto in his last outing in March.
Mayorga makes sense for Canelo at this stage because he can sell a fight, will likely take all the punishment Alvarez cares to throw at him, and will provide a direct comparison between Alvarez and Cotto.
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If Alvares beats Mayorga more soundly than Cotto did, he will go a long way towards selling himself to skeptics as the genuine article rather than an over-hyped work in progress.
Without having to beat a truly elite fighter to do it.
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Stephen Lyman, Pitt: Angulo is too slow for Alvarez, he could catch him though, Mayorga is next though, easier to beat and he sells fights better”
