By Miguel Rivera
According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs), the Mexican superstar is very motivated to fight for a second time in 2018.
Canelo has been inactive since September 2017, when he fought to a controversial twelve round split draw with WBA, WBC, IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
His next contest is coming up on September 15, when he faces Golovkin in a rematch at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo was determined to fight three times in 2018.
Those plans were derailed when he tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol back in February.
Because of those failed tests, Canelo was forced to withdraw from the first Golovkin rematch date of May 5th.
Should everything go as planned in September, Canelo would like to fight in December.
Where would the second fight take place? Mexico is making a big push to secure his next fight.
"Canelo is one hundred percent Mexican, and they want him all over the world," said De la Hoya to ESPN Deportes. "For a fighter, it's a great honor to fight in your homeland, and I'm not saying no (to doing fight in Mexico), it's always a possibility, but we are currently focused on September.
"[Canelo] also wants to fight in December, and we do not know [where that event will take place].. maybe in New York, or some other part of the world, but it is possible [to do it in Mexico], the people in Mexico deserve it. We are not going to rule out anything and we will leave the doors open so that one day [in the future] he will fight in Mexico."
The last time Canelo fought in Mexico was back in November of 2011, when he knocked out former champion Kermit Cintron in five rounds. Since then, Canelo's next twelve contests have landed in either Las Vegas or Texas.
