Saul "Canelo" Alvarez proved his chops as a pay-per-view attraction by besting expectations in terms of PPV buys against an opponent in Alfredo Angulo whom most boxing observers felt was overmatched going into the fight. Now, Canelo plans on fighting again on July 26 but pickings look slim for a viable opponent.
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The top name that has come up is Cuban slickster Erislandy Lara, who has openly called out Alvarez on a consistent basis and even crashed his post-Angulo press conference. Alvarez scolded Lara for his brashness during the presser, but his team is saying Lara's antics won't hurt him in terms of consideration for the July bout.
"[Lara] is an option too. What he did [by challenging Canelo] is not a big problem. He did his job, because he knows that he can generate a lot of money by facing Canelo," Alvarez's trainer Eddy Reynoso said.
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"In general, super welterweight is difficult [to find good opponents]. We are not yet ready to move up to middleweight. Canelo does well at 154 or 155 pounds, but perhaps we'll look for people who want to fight at an agreed weight. We know that Saul is ready to fight with the best in the world and we have to continue working. Sometimes there aren't a lot of opponents, but sometimes there are many."
There are some quality fighters in the class, but these days welterweight is the loaded division and Canelo's simply too big for it. At light middleweight, Miguel Cotto is tied up with Sergio Martinez, Floyd Mayweather's facing Marcos Maidana (and already beaten Canelo) and Austin Trout's been dispatched.
Other names in the division come with baggage and/or aren't ready. IBF champ Carlos Molina is dealing with myriad legal issues involving outstanding warrants and immigration, while the undefeated Charlo twins (Jermell and Jermall) aren't ready for the step up in competition that Alvarez represents.
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