By Luis Sandoval
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has had a very difficult time trying to secure an opponent for his September 15th date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Victor Ortiz suffered a loss to underdog Josesito Lopez last night at the Staples Center and in the process spoiled Golden Boy Promotions’ plans to have him fight against Alvarez in a Showtime pay-per-view showdown.
Alvarez was ringside to watch the Ortiz-Lopez fight and when he addressed the media afterwards, he spoke about being impressed with Lopez.
“I had never seen Josesito fight before, that’s me being honest. He surprised me. Since the first round you could tell it was going to be a good fight. And that’s what it ended up being” said Alvarez.
“Very good fights, not just the main event. Very good fights. The Soto-Matthysse fight,Victor with Josesito was a real good fight. I liked Josesito’s attitude a lot. He had a lot of heart. Sometimes boxing surprises us and it was a good fight.”
The million dollar question now is who does Canelo fight next as yet another possible opponent is now out of the picture. Canelo, his team, and Golden Boy plan to find an opponent out of 3 possible candidates. Richard Schaefer would not reveal the names but only deems one of the 3 names as a PPV fight possibility. The other two would either be on Showtime or CBS. The rumored fighters being considered include WBA "regular" junior middleweight champion Austin Trout and former champion Carlos Quintana.
When Alvarez was asked who he’d like to fight, he was just as unsure as all of us who are waiting to see who they put him in against.
“I can’t think of anyone at the moment but that’s why I have my team. I just prepare. I’d like to fight the best but they aren’t ready. Mayweather is in jail. Cotto won’t fight in September. So I just want to fight the best [available]” said Alvarez.
An opponent will be announced soon as next week Golden Boy will reach out to those three possible names and negotiate.
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.