Canelo prefers Trout for may 4th fight...

Canelo Alvarez intends to fight on May 4, and though it doesn't appear he'll fight Floyd Mayweather -- Robert Guerrero looks to be Mayweather's opponent on that date -- he's still hoping to take on a top opponent.

Alvarez, 22, is standing firm on another topic, too: He doesn't want to fight Miguel Cotto, who is still a superstar name and a solid fighter, but has lost some luster after two straight losses in 2012. The first loss to Mayweather in May wasn't anything that hurt Cotto's value, but his December defeat at the hands of Austin Trout definitely was.

Trout, 27, wants to face Alvarez, and to his credit, Canelo continues to discuss that as if it's a real possibility:

"Trout is a great fighter, he is undefeated, he is a world champion, he's very strong and it would be nice to fight him," Canelo said.

All in all, it's probably the best fight that can be made at 154 pounds, at least if we take Mayweather, who holds the WBA junior middleweight title, out of the equation, which it appears he is, as he eyes a return to welterweight. Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO) and Trout (26-0, 14 KO) are both young, unbeaten titlists, and are both hot right now. Canelo has become a major star, and Trout had a breakout sort of performance against Cotto, a fight and win that really put him in the mix.

It depends on what actually winds up happening, but I find it hard to take any issue with anything Alvarez has said recently. He demanded Golden Boy get him a big fight, with the names at the time being Mayweather, Cotto, and Sergio Martinez. He went after the Mayweather fight. And he's decided to apply sports-like logic to the Cotto situation, which still would make plenty of money, but just isn't the fight now that it was before Cotto lost to Trout. He's saying -- and doing, reportedly -- all the "right" things that we so often beg to see from fighters.

http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/26/3803950/canelo-alvarez-next-fight-may-4-2013-austin-trout-miguel-cotto-boxing-news

That is good news.

Still don't know who he will fight of course, but his sentiments are appreciable. I thought it would be Cotto. That would still be a good fight, but Trout would be much better.

Trout would be a more interesting fight, Cotto would just be fed to Canelo.

Canelo Alvarez is likely to face Austin Trout in a junior middleweight title unification bout on May 4, according to sources in Mexico (report via BoxingScene.com), in a fight that would be the featured undercard bout on Floyd Mayweather's next pay-per-view card. Mayweather is reportedly going to face Robert Guerrero for the WBC welterweight title.

Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO) notched wins over Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez in 2012, but Trout (26-0, 14 KO) represents an entirely different challenge. The southpaw is a legit 154-pound fighter, in his prime, and just scored a big win over Miguel Cotto on December 1.

Canelo was all but signed and sealed to face Cotto on May 4 before that fight, after which Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer still touted the value of a Canelo-Cotto fight, a story that Alvarez just didn't really accept, as he continually dismissed Cotto as a potential next opponent due to the loss.

If Mayweather-Guerrero and Canelo-Trout goes ahead as seems like for May 4, it's a pretty freakin' good 1-2 punch at the top of a pay-per-view, with a pair of legitimate fights, featuring two big stars taking on contenders who have earned their way into the bouts, brand value be damned.

If Canelo-Trout does go down, who's your pick in that fight? Will Alvarez set up a possible September fight with Mayweather, or can Trout pull off another upset over a more popular foe?

http://www.badlefthook.com/2013/1/1/3824504/canelo-alvarez-vs-austin-trout-reportedly-close-may-4-mayweather-undercard-hbo-boxing-news