By José Luis Camarillo, notifight.com
WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has begun training for the first defense of the title he captured in early March. Alvarez will fight on June 18 at Arena VFG in Guadalajara, Mexico. The venue can hold as many as 15,000 fans. Alvarez last fought there in July 2010, when he captured a WBC silver belt with a TKO victory over Luciano Cuello. Trainers José "Chepo" Reynoso and Eddy Reynoso are monitoring Alvarez's work.
Eddy Reynoso says the next defense of Canelo will be shown by HBO pay-per-view, which is going to mark the unbeaten Mexican's first appearance as a pay-per-view headliner.
"It will be the debut of 'Canelo' in a starring role on HBO pay-per-view. He already appeared on HBO pay-per-view when he beat Jose Cotto in May 2010, in Las Vegas, but now he will headline the event," said the young coach.
No opponent has been set. Mandatory challenger Ryan Rhodes has been mentioned as a possibility. The WBC is potentially going to order a purse bid for Alvarez-Rhodes by the end of April, if no deal is reached between the two parties.
