Ranking the 5 Best Opponents for Canelo Alvarez After Move to HBO

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez packed his bags and moved across the street last week, spurning Showtime and signing a multifight deal with rival HBO.

It was the latest and most significant move in the now-complete rapprochement between Golden Boy Promotions and HBO, which cut ties with the company early in 2013.

Canelo is a huge star with a rabid and growing fanbase. The move is a potential game-changer, and it left the suits at Showtime—who have televised his last five fights, including boxing’s richest contest against Floyd Mayweather—frothing with anger.

The 24-year-old Mexican has been candid about his desire to make the biggest fights against the most challenging fighters, and here we rank the five best opponents for Canelo on HBO.

5. Matt Korobov

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Matt Korobov is definitely not the sexiest name on this list.

In fact, you might well be wondering what the heck he is doing on here in the first place.

Korobov’s star has dimmed a bit in the last couple of years, largely the result of the painfully slow movement of his career. You can blame the fighter or his promoters or everyone in between, but the decorated Russian is definitely not where he could be.

And that's a shame. He's a tremendously skilled technical fighter and an easy out for nobody.

That could change in a big way when he gets the opportunity to fight for a share of the middleweight championship against current 154-pound champion Demetrius Andrade.

Korobov defeated Juan Uzcategui in June on HBO, becoming the mandatory challenger for WBO 160-pound champion Peter Quillin. The fight went to a purse bid, which was won by Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports but was declined by Kid Chocolate.

The belt was declared vacant, opening up an opportunity for both Korobov and Andrade, who were ordered to fight for the title.

With Canelo’s future seemingly destined to take him to middleweight, Korobov could become a thorn in his side before you know it.

But first things first.

4. Demetrius Andrade

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Andrade is one of those tricky, awkward fighters who Canelo has struggled with in the past.

Think Austin Trout with more power.

Erislandy Lara with more aggression.

Canelo’s team hasn’t shown a ton of interest in jumping right back into another tricky, difficult fight, and you can’t really blame them at the moment.

Oscar De La Hoya mentioned him as one of three finalists to get Canelo’s December fight, but Joshua Clottey ended up with the nod.

Andrade called out Canelo in the wake of his non-title win over Lara in July, claiming that the line to face the Mexican star began behind him. That turns out to not be the case, but you can certainly understand his argument.

"Boo Boo" is young, undefeated and on the rise. He’s a southpaw with good pop on his punches, great speed and a tricky defensive look.

What he fails to realize is that the market isn’t ripe for this fight just yet.

Canelo is a name, and talent notwithstanding, Andrade's not quite there yet.

All he needs to do is continue winning impressively—he’ll get a chance to take a middleweight title against Korobov—and generate public demand.

That and keep calling Canelo out.

History has shown that the Mexican rarely hesitates to silence his critics, and Boo Boo is one of his biggest at the moment.

3. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has failed to live up to the lofty expectations befitting his name and pedigree, but just think of the storylines that would surround a potential fight with Canelo.

What about an all-Mexico showdown on Mexican Independence Day weekend this September?

Canelo has said that he wants to reclaim Mexican holiday weekends from Mayweather, and this would certainly help in that cause.

Chavez Jr. is the son of Mexico’s greatest fighter.

Canelo often draws comparisons to Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., and he’s easily the most popular fighter from the fighting-crazed nation in the sport today.

The promotion would almost certainly take on the aura of a WWE pay-per-view main event.

One fighter is young, good looking and has worked his way to the top the hard way.

Canelo is the face of Mexican boxing and one of the big-money players in the sport.

Chavez Jr. is the heel.

He's the guy who people can’t stand because of the entitled attitude with which he handles his approach to the sport.

You’d have to think that both men would be highly motivated for an event with these implications and the hype that would surround every aspect of the fight.

It would be big money, big event all the way, and that’s why Canelo is here.

This fight needs to happen, and it would be very surprising if it didn’t.

2. Gennady Golovkin

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Many observers of the sweet science felt that Canelo and his team were nuts for dropping the name Gennady Golovkin in the minutes following his just-enough performance against Lara.

But just a few months later a Canelo vs. Golovkin fight seems less like a pipe dream and more like the logical order of events.

Whether this proves to be a good thing for the young Mexican superstar remains to be seen.

But for Golovkin the arrival of Canelo must feel like a boon.

The Kazakh bomber has struggled finding anything resembling world-class opponents to ply their trade with him inside the ring. That’s a function of his massive punching power and the ability to find lower-risk fights that provide comparable or even superior rewards.

Canelo has stated repeatedly in the past that he refuses to duck anyone.

He fought Trout at a time when nobody else was in a hurry to do so.

And he fought Lara despite what were certainly the best wishes of his handlers.

Did he look particularly good in either of those fights?

No, but he did enough to get the job done.

Golovkin is a whole different animal.

But Canelo doesn’t duck or dodge, and this fight will be extremely important if he’s successful against No. 1 on this list.

1. Miguel Cotto

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It’s boxing’s worst-kept secret.

Canelo will meet Miguel Cotto next year in a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico showdown that has the potential to be the biggest fight of the year.

Basically the only thing that can intercede at this point is Clottey, and that doesn’t seem like the type of bet you’d want to stake the farm on.

Canelo vs. Cotto has been discussed for months, and it became possible with the sudden thawing of relations between De La Hoya and Top Rank founder/CEO Bob Arum.

It’s a match of a rising star from a boxing-crazed nation and a legend who recently made history as the first four-division champion in the history of his homeland.

Everything about this fight sells itself.

The heavy lifting is already done, and all the fighters and promoters really need to do is show up on fight night and count their millions.

Especially if it takes place on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

It’s funny the difference a couple of nights in the ring can make.

Cotto was left for dead after dropping back-to-back contests against Mayweather and Trout.

But he recommitted himself, hired Freddie Roach to run his corner and decimated heavy favorite Sergio Martinez to win the middleweight crown in June. His ferocity—which most felt was gone for good—showed up in full bloom. and it was like all things old were new again.

Canelo dropped a wide decision to Mayweather, but his star wasn’t dimmed by the performance. He rebounded with wins over Alfredo Angulo and Lara to regain his standing among most fans.

Far from a ship that had sailed, this fight seems more important than ever.

Let's get it on!

This fight will be a war in the truest sense of the word.