By Miguel Rivera
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs), believes his boxer is only one win away from becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
On September 16th, Canelo will challenge WBC, WBA, IBO, IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs). No venue has been finalized at the moment.
This past Saturday night, Canelo jumped from 154 to 164.5-pounds to dominate country rival Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over twelve rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Golovkin last fought in March, when he won a twelve round decision over mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs at New York's Madison Square Garden.
At the moment, De La Hoya feels Canelo is at worst among the top three pound-for-pound fighters in boxing.
De La Hoya expects the next three years to showcase the very best of Canelo's skills.
"He has to be in the top three, as I see him. And beating Golovkin, no doubt, he is going to be number one. This is the Canelo era, it is the time of Canelo. And, in addition, he is just beginning his career, because he is still very young at only 26 years old. And he still has a lot to learn. He is showing progress in each of his fights, he has a great team, with 'Chepo' and Eddie Reynoso, who continue to teach him new things," De La Hoya told ESPN Deportes.
"I see him in the gym, when they are training, what they are working on, the movements that Canelo does, the way his legs work, his combinations of punches, everything - and they know what they are doing. They are people with a lot of experience and that's why I think that over time Canelo will improve as a boxer. Because the best time for a boxer is around the age of 28 or 29. We still have not seen the best of Canelo."