By Luis Sandoval
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez put on a dominant performance against Josesito Lopez this past Saturday night at the MGM Grand as he kept his title and undefeated record intact. Things however didn’t go as well for his countryman and rival Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as he suffered his first defeat at the hands of Sergio Martinez and lost his WBC Middleweight title in the process.
After his fight Saturday, Alvarez was asked what his thoughts were on Chavez Jr’s defeat.
“Unfortunately a Mexican fighter lost and hopefully he gets up from this and gives it his all. It doesn’t finish here” said Alvarez.
Both fighters traded words through the media leading up to their fights as they were in direct competition with each other with their fights being on the same night in Las Vegas. Even though Chavez Jr said some things about Alvarez in an interview with ESPN, Alvarez doesn’t seem to hold a grudge.
Alvarez was asked if it still hurt seeing a fellow Mexican fighter loss regardless of anything.
“Definitely. Like I said, I hope he gets up from this and hopefully he continues his career and it doesn't end here. He should keep fighting and hopefully he recovers and continues his career”.
Alvarez’s career will also continue as he now eyes the possibility of landing a big name opponent for his next fight. There are already rumors about Alvarez maybe facing Miguel Cotto or Floyd Mayweather Jr next year. In fact, Miguel Cotto was in Las Vegas this weekend and may have been doing some scouting in watching Canelo’s fight with Josesito. A fight with Cotto or Mayweather is something Alvarez would welcome especially on Cinco De Mayo weekend.
“For me it would be an honor [to fight Miguel Cotto] but we need to talk to my team to see what's coming up but it would be an honor for me to fight him. Either one. For me I would love it. That’s what I want” said the red headed Mexican champion.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer had previously informed BoxingScene that Alvarez could fight one more time in December but when Alvarez was asked, he said he wasn’t sure if that was still the plan and needed to sit down with his team to talk about it.
One thing is for sure, Alvarez isn’t shy about wanting to fight the two biggest names in his division and the highlight of his post fight conference was when Canelo gave this answer in English to if he was ready to face Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“I’m not ready. I was born ready”.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.