By Jake Donovan

A motivating factor in Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returning to HBO was his wanting to reclaim the fight weekends surrounding Cinco de Mayo (May 5, celebrating the Battle of Puebla) and El Grito de Independencia (Mexico’s Independence Day, September 16). It didn’t happen in his first year back with the network, but big plans are in store for 2016.

BoxingScene.com has learned that Golden Boy Promotions has placed a hold on the newly constructed Las Vegas Arena for a May 7 boxing event. Alvarez is due to return to the ring versus a yet-to-be-determined opponent on that date, in the first defense of his World middleweight championship.

As is the case with all events staged in the state of Nevada, the item is subject to approval from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The request will be reviewed during the next monthly agenda hearing, which is due to take place on January 12 at NSAC headquarters in Las Vegas.

“Golden Boy Promotions has placed a hold for Canelo to fight at the new arena on May 7,” Bob Bennett, executive director of NSAC confirmed to BoxingScene.com. “It will come up at the next hearing, at which time we will vote on whether or not to approve the request.”

A few names have been teased as potential candidates for the coveted role of standing across the ring from Alvarez. At present time, any boxers that have been mentioned have yet to advance beyond the rumor stage, with Alvarez and the Golden Boy staff only recently returning from taking a break over the holidays and just now discussing plans for the May 7 event.

Rarely has there been an instance where the commission has denied a venue request for a promoter to stage an event, absent the necessary documents in place. Pending the inevitable approval, the May 7 card will mark the first boxing event in the state-of-the-art 20,000 seat arena along the Vegas strip, which will stage its first show – non-boxing related – in April.

It will also allow Alvarez to follow in the footsteps of Mexico’s most identifiable boxer in history, although his team will certainly aim for a more favorable result. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. starred in the first-ever boxing event at the MGM Grand way back in Jan. ’94, though resulting in his first career loss after having stormed to an 89-0-1 mark in dropping a 12-round decision to Frankie Randall.

Revenge was gained by Chavez in their rematch at the very same venue less than four months later on May 7, 1994 – 22 years to the date of Alvarez’ next fight.

The backdrop will create the necessary big fight atmosphere for the red-headed superstar, who has emerged as the new face of boxing in the wake of the sport’s two biggest stars – Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – either retiring or heading in that direction.

Mayweather – who owns a Sept. ’13 win over Alvarez in what served as the most lucrative boxing event of all time – called it a career following his 12-round victory over Andre Berto last September. Both fights took place at the MGM Grand, which has housed Mayweather’s final 12 fights.

Pacquiao may or may not decide to fight on after his scheduled April 9 rubber match with Tim Bradley, also at the MGM Grand. It will be his first fight back at the venue since his loss to Mayweather last May in what will serve for a very long time as the richest fight in boxing history.

While there isn’t a single fight on the horizon that can come close to breaking the financial marks established by Mayweather-Pacquiao, Alvarez is viewed as the ideal candidate to serve as the sport’s bank for the foreseeable future.

It was with that in mind that the 25-year old star from Mexico decided to return to American cable giant HBO. The announcement came in Sept. ’14, two months after the last of a five-fight stint with Showtime, including his final three having taken place on pay-per-view.

Following his loss to Mayweather, Alvarez was limited to fights in March and July of 2014. It never sat well that he could not serve as the lead attraction on the two big weekends dedicated to Mexican holidays, but that right was lost the moment he fell short with the aforementioned loss, as Mayweather has owned the dates for the past several years.

Alvarez and Golden Boy were willing to play hardball in ownership of last year’s May 2 date. The intention was to face Miguel Cotto, only willing to move off the date had Mayweather secured a long-awaited clash with Pacquiao. That moment came as his talks with Cotto eventually stalled, with Alvarez securing the services of James Kirkland one week later, drawing 30,000 fans to Minute Maid Park in Houston.

His coveted fight with Cotto finally came along, with the two colliding last November at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Alvarez claimed a unanimous decision and the World middleweight championship in the headlining attraction of an event which drew a live gate of more than $12.4 million and reportedly selling 900,000 pay-per-view units.

Whether or not his next fight goes the PPV route, the fact that he will serve in the first headlining act at the Las Vegas Arena gives him the necessary big fight to further build his superstar brand.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox