21-year-old WBC junior middleweight champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is scheduled to make the fourth defense of his title May 5th, on the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto undercard at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Traditionally, the Cinco de Mayo weekend is a big one for Mexican fighters. It’s usually when warriors from the Aztec Nation bring out the big guns and involve themselves in their biggest wars.
Alvarez, despite being a mere babe in the woods, knows the tradition and, reportedly, is eager to take on a major opponent for his undercard showcase bout.
However, the problem with being a 21-year-old champion in training is this: While he may have the title and be willing to take on all challengers, his handlers have to know that proper opponent selection at this stage of his career is vital.
So, with that juggling game in mind, the search for a suitable Canelo opponent has begun.
Media reports put former world champ, Shane Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) at the top of the list right now. Mosley, a former Golden Boy fighter, would be a big name for Alvarez’s resume, but would not bring much else. After three consecutive poor showings (against Manny Pacquiao, Sergio Mora, and Floyd Mayweather), most analysts have written off the 40-year-old as a shot fighter. A win over Mosley, at this point, would pretty much bring a “so what” response from most.
Delvin Rodriguez (26-5-3, 14 KOs) and Gabriel Rosado (19-5, 11 KOs) are also rumored to be in the running for the lucrative co-feature. Rodriguez is coming off the biggest win of his career-a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Pawel Wolak in a rematch of their Fight of the Year draw just months prior. Rosado is also coming off a career-topping win? a TKO 5 victory over Jesus Soto Karass.
Both Rodriguez and Rosado are solid, quality fighters, but neither is an elite-level star and neither can really be considered a big ticket opponent.
Other available challengers, like James Kirkland or one of the other recognized world titlists, would fit the bill of a true challenger in all regards, but it may be too soon for Alvarez to consider some of these guys.
Thus, the game continues. The search goes on for opponents well-known enough to add to Alvarez’s growing resume, but not so good as too actually overturn the young champion’s ride to super-stardom.
