Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is eyeing a showdown with reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Miguel Cotto next year, but the former junior middleweight champion is also willing to face Gennady Golovkin.
Alvarez quashed speculation suggesting that he is afraid to face Golovkin, who holds an impressive 31-0 record with 28 knockout victories He said that he is not impressed with the unbeaten champion's record because he has yet to face a big-name opponent.
Alvarez said that he trained with Golovkin before and he feels that he can handle the unbeaten Kazakh, who is the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization middleweight champion.
"Golovkin is a great fighter, very strong, and at this time everyone is afraid of him because he's knocking everyone out," Alvarez said in radio interview in Mexico. "But, you also have to take a look at who he's knocking out. The most important thing is that he is a great fighter. I did some sparring with him, he is very strong. Yes, I'd like to fight him."
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya also said in a recent interview with KTLA that Alvarez is also willing to face Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao next year if the fight against Cotto will not be arranged.
"He wants to go and fight Miguel Cotto, he wants to fight Mayweather, he wants to fight Pacquiao," De La Hoya said of Canelo in an interview with KTLA. "He wants to fight the top, top guys. This kid is 24 years old. He is going to be the next superstar in boxing for like the next 10 years."
Alvarez holds an impressive 44-1-1 record with 31 knockouts. His lone defeat came against Mayweather in their record-setting fight in September 2013, which set the highest revenue for a pay-per-view boxing event.
Alvarez recently said that he is planning to fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend on May 2 despite threats from Mayweather's camp that they won't let Canelo take the fight date from them. Mayweather has fought on Cinco De Mayo weekend over the past three years.
The 24-year-old Mexican was scheduled to face Joshua Clottey this month, but the fight was cancelled after he sustained an ankle injury. Alvarez is confident that he will recover in time for his fight in May next year.
