By Jake Donovan

For a move repeatedly referred to by all parties involved as ‘historic’, Golden Boy Promotions and HBO were awfully cryptic regarding any of the terms for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returning to the network.

Nevertheless, the news made for a big day as the agreement was formally announced during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at Golden Boy Promotions headquarters in Los Angeles.

“Today is a historical day in boxing. It’s always been my pleasure to work with a great young fighter like Canelo Alvarez,” Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, stated during a media conference call immediately following the press conference. “There is something special about Canelo.

“It is my pleasure to announce to you that Canelo will be fighting on HBO network. We are extremely happy to be working with Ken Hershman and Mark Taffett. Ken Hershman was instrumental in putting this deal together. We are extremely, extremely happy to bring Canelo home to HBO, which was my home for more than 30 fights.”

Alvarez has fought eight times total on HBO and its accompanying outlets (HBO Pay-Per-View, HBO2, HBO Latino). It seems that plans for the new deal in place call for the 24-year old to eventually surpass that mark.

“The reason I came back to HBO is to make history. That’s what I want, to make history,” Alvarez (44-1, 31KOs) said of the move, though without speaking specifically to how long he will be contractually bound to the network. “That’s something we want to maintain amongst ourselves. But I will say that it’s long-term.”

Included among Alvarez’ run on HBO was his first major title win, scoring a 12-round decision over Matthew Hatton to claim a 154 lb. title in March ’11. The fight came with an asterisk, as Alvarez missed the 150 lb. catchweight limit, but was eligible to fight for the title since he still weighed within the parameters of the super welterweight division.

His reign extended over to Showtime, though not before defending four times on HBO and its PPV arm. Included among the run was a 5th round knockout of Kermit Cintron in Nov. ’11, a show that marked the last of the output deal between HBO and Golden Boy. Alvarez appeared once more on HBO PPV, scoring a 12-round decision over Shane Mosley on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s points win over Miguel Cotto in May ’12. The event sold 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, the highest total HBO amassed for any fight that didn’t include de la Hoya in the headliner.

Alvarez and Mayweather both crossed the street to Showtime in the aftermath. Alvarez’ first of five straight fights on Showtime and SHO PPV came in direct conflict with an HBO PPV card, facing Josesito Lopez on a Sept. ’12 televised quadruple header on the same night – and in the same town – as Sergio Martinez’ 12-round win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on HBO PPV.

The bout was just one of two live appearances on regular Showtime, the other coming in his very next fight, a win over Austin Trout in their 154 lb. title unification bout last April.

Three straight pay-per-view headliners followed, including his points loss to Mayweather last September. The bout became the highest grossing boxing event of all time, setting records at the live gate and in terms of pay-per-view revenue.

Alvarez has since fought twice, both coming this year on pay-per-view, scoring wins over Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara. The original blueprint called for three Showtime PPV headliners on the year; those plans shifted following the Lara bout, when de la Hoya announced Alvarez’ next fight would be non-PPV and that “HBO is a possibility.”

HBO has now very much become the reality, with Alvarez’ next fight slated for December.

The opponent, exact date and hosting venue have yet to be determined. Joshua Clottey was believed to be the frontrunner, with the intention to stage the fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio on December 6. It has since been revealed that the Alamodome is not available on that date, due to a conflict with the Rock & Roll Marathon event during the same weekend. The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs have a home game at the AT&T Center.

Clottey is no longer the only horse in the race. James Kirkland, the originally targeted opponent and also whom Alvarez was supposed to face in Sept. ’12, recently withdrew from a planned Nov. 8 bout with Gabriel Rosado, which would have served as the chief support to the light heavyweight unification bout between Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins—ironically a card that signals Golden Boy’s official return to HBO since last March.

With Alvarez boasting a huge fan base in San Antonio, the intention is to fight in that town and not another part of Texas, as Houston has also been rumored as a possible alternate location.

“We will have more details next week,” de la Hoya assured the media. “We are working on the site. We’re working on the opponent.”

When asked if December 6 was in fact the date Alvarez will fight regardless of location, de la Hoya was brief and noncommittal.

“Possibly,” when asked to confirm. “The first date will be December on HBO.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox