Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Rematch in September?

By Steve Kim

On May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a Mexican showdown takes place between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in what is a highly anticipated event that is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

"I don't even have to promote this fight on how good it's going to be because Chavez doesn't know how to take a step going backwards, 'Canelo' doesn't either," said De La Hoya, who ironically said this on Friday afternoon while on the final leg of a five-city press tour to promote this pay-per-view card.

"It's something personal between them - it's going to be a war. I mean it's going to be like (Erik)Morales-(Marco Antonio) Barrera-type of fight. That's going to be guaranteed."

When asked if this was the biggest Mexican rivalry in boxing history, De La Hoya answered:

"It could be, because of the names, because both guys can't even walk the streets of Mexico. They're like royalty over there in Mexico. So it could be by far the biggest fight between two Mexican's in the history of Mexican boxing."

What remains to be scene is if this will be a fight that can live up to the legacy of Barrera and Morales but if it does, could we see a rematch between the two?

A rematch would push back a potential showdown between Canelo (48-1-1, 34 KOs) and middleweight king Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs). The fight is being targeted for September, but De La Hoya admits that a Canelo-Chavez rematch is not out of the question for the fall.

"We'll have to wait and see. Look, it's a very interesting point you make. If it's a great fight - it has to be a great fight - I believe it's going to be a great , it all depends. What if it's a blowout or what if somebody gets cut? There's a lot of factors that can come into play," said De La Hoya.

"But if it's a great fight, why not in September again? But I've always said and I want to keep my promise: that (Gennady) Golovkin is on 'Canelo's radar and he's not afraid of him. So we'll have to see."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.