Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya has big plans for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, and the Hall of Famer is not ready to give up on the possibility of facing Miguel Cotto.
Alvarez and Cotto were linked to a showdown earlier this year, but the camps of the two fighters failed to strike a deal before the deadline set by Golden Boy Promotions. In turn, GBP arranged a fight between Alvarez and James Kirkland on May 9 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
But despite failing to finalize the Cotto-Alvarez fight, De La Hoya said that he is not losing hope. The former world champion told Tha Boxing Voice that he will try to arrange the fight again in the future, pointing out that the fight would be big because it would revive the rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"We still want Canelo-Cotto because it will be a great battle," De La Hoya said of the long-proposed fight. "It'll be great for the Mexican-Puerto Rico rivalry like Chavez-Rosario and Sanchez-Gomez. The fight between Canelo and Cotto has to happen because the public demands it."
But before trying to get the fight finalized again, Alvarez has to impress in his upcoming fight against Kirkland, who holds an impressive 32-1 record with 28 knockouts. Kirkland is also trying to make a name for himself by beating Alvarez, who is considered as one of the biggest stars in boxing today.
While there is immense pressure to perform well, De La Hoya played down speculation that Alvarez will name a new trainer to get himself ready for bigger fights. He pointed out that Canelo is in good hands with Jose Hernandez based on how the 24-year-old Mexican won against Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo last year.
"Canelo is young and still has a lot to learn at the age of 24," De La Hoya said of Alvarez. "I think he has a good corner, and they were there for tough fights that nobody thought Canelo would take like against Trout and Lara, and Canelo won with them."
Cotto has to defend his World Boxing Council middleweight title as well in order to keep the fans interested in a showdown between him and Alvarez. The Puerto Rican has yet to name an opponent for his next fight, but is reportedly considering Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, Brandon Rios and Cornelius Bundrage.
