Golden Boy Promotions is expected to arrange a Cinco de Mayo weekend fight card featuring reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Golden Boy Promotions and Alvarez have yet to name possible foes for the May 2016 bout, but middleweight contender Gabriel Rosado believes he is ready to face Canelo.
Rosado, who owns a 22-9 record with 13 knockout victories, scored a unanimous decision win against former world champion Joshua Clottey on Saturday in New York. The 29-year-old said that he felt good despite coming off a long layoff, which makes him believe he is ready for a big challenge in his next fight.
"I am ready for my next big challenge," Rosado told BoxingScene. "I would like a shot at Canelo next."
Rosado added that he decided to end his long hiatus because he knew he still has a lot of gas left in his tank. He also felt that a big win against Clottey would put him in talks for showdowns against the top middleweight fighters today.
"I took this fight because I know the game is still in me," Rosado continued. "I have more left to offer boxing than what fans have seen of me in the past few years. We can talk about Canelo, Miguel Cotto and any other middleweight - but I need to win this fight in order for fans to once again get talking about Gabriel Rosado."
With the win on Saturday, Rosado is now expected to be considered for Canelo's next fight. Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez recently told BoxingScene that the winner of the Rosado-Clottey bout will be one of their options for the Cinco de Mayo weekend bout.
However, Gomez also insisted that they are not in a rush and will study their options carefully after the Holidays, as Canelo is still taking a vacation following his impressive unanimous decision win against Cotto last month.
"To be honest, we haven't even begun to discuss it yet," Gomez said. "Canelo is enjoying life as new middleweight champion of the world; he's on vacation taking some much deserved time off. We won't talk about his next fight until after the holidays. No names have been mentioned."
Alvarez, who has a 46-1-1 card with 32 knockout wins, was allowed to make one defense of his WBC middleweight title before taking a mandatory showdown with interim champion Gennady Golovkin in the second half of 2016. The 34-0 Golovkin is also expected to fight one more time in May before facing Canelo.
