Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is open to facing former pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and fellow middleweight superstar Gennady Golovkin in his next fights.
Alvarez, who is the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion, did not rule out the possibility of facing Pacquiao when asked about it in a recent interview with EsNewsReporting. Instead of dodging the question, Canelo gamely said that he needs to prepare several plans if he collides with Pacquiao.
"We'll talk about that when we get there when that fight happens," Canelo said of facing Pacquiao. "When you fight in a big fight against a guy like him, you have a plan A, B and C."
It remains to be seen, though, whether or not the fight will come to fruition, considering the fact that Pacquiao has already announced he will retire after his upcoming fight against Timothy Bradley on April 12.
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In the event Pacquiao decides to continue fighting, the two camps will likely have to agree to a catchweight. But according to Boxing News 24, Pacquiao is expected to agree to fight Canelo at 155 pounds. However, it would give Canelo a huge advantage on fight night if there will be no rehydration clause because Canelo could bulk up after the official weigh-in.
Meanwhile, Alvarez also reiterated in a separate interview that he will not avoid facing Golovkin, who is the mandatory challenger to the WBC middleweight title.
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Golovkin was supposed to get his mandatory title shot in May against Alvarez, but WBC allowed both fighters to fight one more time before the highly anticipated showdown. In case both fighters win in their respective next fights, Canelo will have no other choice but to face Golovkin if he wants to keep the title.
When asked about facing Golovkin, Alvarez insisted that the fight will happen but added that the two parties will engage in a long discussion about the terms of the bout.
"Look, that fight is going to get made," Canelo said via North Jersey. "It's going to get made, but it's a long negotiation."
One of the possible hurdles is the weight issue as Canelo wants the fight at 155 pounds, while Golovkin is demanding for the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds. Alvarez pointed out that he is not willing to give into concessions that will favor Golovkin.
"I've given up many advantages," Alvarez said. "I've done it throughout my career to get to this point where I'm at. I'm not going to give any concessions or any advantages to Golovkin."
Alvarez, who owns a 46-1-1 record with 32 knockouts, will defend his WBC middleweight title against Amir Khan on May 7 in Las Vegas, while Golovkin will collide with Dominic Wade on April 23 in California. Golovkin, who has a perfect 34-0 record, is the reigning World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization middleweight champion.
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