By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com spoke to IBF junior middlweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage to get his thoughts on newly crowned WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's recent victory over Mathew Hatton. Alvarez won a 12 round unanimous decision over the Englishman to win the vacant WBC strap. Alvarez had received criticism for facing a welterweight for the junior middleweight belt and then received more criticism when he couldn't put the smaller man away before the final bell.
"I thought it was a good fight for Canelo. They are doing a good job with the guys they are putting him in there with. The way he got that belt man, that is outstanding. The way I see it he hasn't fought anyone and he is a world champion. I wish I could have went through the same thing myself. I earned my belt. I ain't mad at him. His people did a good job getting him that belt. If I could have done the same thing I would have done it too," Bundrage told BoxingScene.com
K9 has been inactive since winning the IBF belt via TKO over Cory Spinks this past August. The former Contender series participant is hoping for a unification bout and Alvarez is just one of the fighters that he would like to face. He feels that his dominating victory over former champion Cory Spinks should have landed him a big fight already.
"I would love to fight Alvarez or Cotto or any of these top guys. I should be getting one of these unification bouts. I beat a 5 time world champion (Cory Spinks) but nobody wants to give me credit for that. Spinks was talking about fighting Pacquiao or Floyd after me. You don't think he was training hard for that fight when he was trying to get a big fight like that afterwards?"
The Detroit, Michigan native feels that his fan friendly style and the notoriety that he received by participating on the Contender series makes him a viable option for a showdown on one of the premium networks.
"People know me man. I have been known world wide since my time on the Contender. I should be able to get one of these fights."
There have been rumors that Bundrage may face undefeated Cuban prospect Erislandy Lara in the televised opener to Devon Alexander's next fight that will likely take place in June or July. Bundrage said that he doesn't have a problem facing the former amateur standout but would prefer a fight versus one of the current champions.
"Of course I would fight Lara but at this point I would rather face Alvarez or Cotto or any of these guys with a belt. Cotto just had a great win over Mayorga too. We should be able to unify some of these belts and give these fans the fights they want to see."
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