Canelo Alvarez's Next Fight Must Be Against Opponent Vulnerable to Knockout

After tasting defeat for the first time as a professional, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez must bounce back with a win, and the best way to do that is have him take on a fighter who plays to his strengths.

His strengths are apparent:  

Floyd Mayweather Jr. does not play to Canelo's strengths. If it wasn't clear before, it is after everyone watching, excluding judge C.J. Ross, saw Mayweather dismantle Canelo with his amazing defense and surgeon-like punching.

There is no shame in that. Money dismantles everyone. The guy is a defensive genius and an all-around great fighter. He's never lost, and there is a reason for that.

As we saw, Alvarez was not ready for Mayweather. His struggles on offense were to be expected, but where he really showed his game needs polish is on the defensive side. 

It was one of the big concerns heading into this bout. Canelo's defense is a work in progress.

Taking on Austin Trout in his fight leading up to Mayweather, Canelo earned an impressive victory, and he was the first person to send Trout to the canvas. 

However, Trout was also landing his jab with ease. In that fight, Canelo was outhit 124-154.

Money took control of this fight when he started landing clean pot shots on Canelo, and Alvarez made that far too easy. 

Now, Canelo has to be careful to get back on track. While he has to work on refining his defensive skills, he needs to find a fighter who likes to slug it out. 

To his credit, Alvarez's last two opponents have not fit that mold. It has forced Canelo out of his comfort zone, and at 42-1-1 with 30 knockouts, that's not a place the 23-year-old has been very often. 

While that is great for his development as a fighter, he has other concerns. 

At his young age, he needs to be thinking big picture. Not only are there issues of regaining confidence after suffering his maiden loss, but he would be wise to keep his eye on his wallet as well. 

His name carries a lot of weight, and to ensure his popularity, he needs to get a knockout on the highlight tape. In the meantime, he can fine-tune his defense and work on being a lengthy and well-rounded champion.