By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – A potential second fight against Gennady Golovkin wasn’t the only rematch mentioned to Canelo Alvarez during their press tour.

Now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has come out of retirement, even if it’s for a mismatch against a mixed martial artist, the hope among some within the boxing industry is that Mayweather will remain active after August 26. If the 40-year-old superstar chooses to keep boxing after fighting Conor McGregor, an early-May return would be likely.

If that scenario unfolds, and Alvarez defeats Golovkin in a middleweight title fight that doesn’t warrant a rematch, a Mayweather-Alvarez rematch might become a marketable option for Mayweather. Though fully focused on his long-awaited showdown with Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) on September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) has always wanted another opportunity to dethrone Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs).

“There’s a saying, you know, first things first,” Alvarez told a small group of reporters through a translator Tuesday night in Manhattan. “But yeah, sure, why not? It’s in the back of my mind, that fight. And I would love to erase that [loss].”

The 26-year-old Alvarez’s lone loss came against Mayweather in their September 2013 fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Mayweather won by majority decision, yet clearly won a 12-round fight one judge, C.J. Ross, somehow scored even (114-114). The two other judges – Craig Metcalfe (117-111) and Dave Moretti (116-112) – scored the fight for Mayweather by large margins.

Mexico’s Alvarez is 7-0 (4 KOs) since losing to Mayweather. The only close fight during that winning streak was his 12-round, split-decision victory over Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara (24-2-2, 14 KOs) in July 2014 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I’m more confident now,” Alvarez said. “I’m more experienced. That fight motivated me. I think that, more than anything, instead of deterring me, it motivated me to become a better fighter, a more complete fighter.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.