Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has made his short-term goal clear.
If all goes well and he gets a win over Billy Joe Saunders in their title unification bout on May 8 of Cinco de Mayo weekend, the boxing sensation has full intention to book a fight with Caleb Plant for a shot at undisputed super middleweight glory.
But then what? The 30-year-old four division world champion has shown and proven over his last several fights that he’s only interested in bouts that spell or build toward boxing history.
So, during Alvarez’s conference call with the media Wednesday, DAZN News broached a reoccurring, floating idea of Canelo taking on unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. someday in the near future. After all, Spence walks around in the middleweight to super middleweight range.
The fact that Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) stands undefeated and seemingly isn’t even remotely close to booking a bout with fellow undefeated welterweight champion Terence Crawford would only add to the lure of "The Truth" stepping up to get in the ring with Canelo. And for what it's worth, Canelo is leaving the possibility open for now.
“We’ll see, we’ll see after everything,” Alvarez told DAZN News with a smile when asked about the possibility. “Like I say, we have this goal to be undisputed at 168 and then … we don’t know.”
If the mega bout comes to fruition, the fighters may even have a go-to venue as a landing destination in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. That’s where Canelo is facing Saunders, with the Mexican superstar having previously fought at the home of the Dallas Cowboys back in September 2016 against Liam Smith.
Spence has fought at the sprawling venue twice, having scored a pair of unanimous decision victories at AT&T Stadium — against Danny Garcia this past December and over Mikey Garcia in March 2019.
Spence, a Texas native, was in attendance to witness Alvarez's drubbing of Callum Smith at the Alamodome in San Antonio this past December. Canelo, during his post-fight press conference that night, made sure to acknowledge Spence's presence, before turning his laser vision back on becoming the first undisputed super middleweight world champ in boxing history.
"Yes, I saw (Spence)," Alvarez said. "I'm very grateful that he was here, but the reality is we have other goals right now. We have the goals of the 168-pound titles."
His response during Wednesday's conference calls seems a bit more open to the idea, though it might be a longterm goal. While conquering the super middleweight division is Canelo's first objective, the unified 168-pound world champ admits that being the first boxer out of people's mouth during pound-for-pound best discussions is also important for him at this stage of his career.
"Well, it’s important for me because it’s part of making history in my career," said Alvarez, who has won world championships at junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight over the course of his 16-year pro ledger. "I’m the second Mexican to be in the pound-for-pound (conversation)."
Canelo returns to action May 8 in a huge super-middleweight unification against Billy Joe Saunders. Sign up for DAZN to watch the fight live worldwide except Mexico. Note: fight fans in Argentina, Chile and Colombia must sign up via the DAZN app, downloadable from Google Play and the App Store.