Legendary fighter-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya has predicted what he believes will be next for Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo was handed the third defeat of his professional career last month, suffering a unanimous decision loss to pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford in their historic showdown at the Allegiant Stadium.
The Mexican superstar now finds himself at a crossroads in a career after he was dethroned of his undisputed super-middleweight championship, although the four-weight world champion is unlikely to announce his retirement from the sport.
Whilst reports are suggesting that Canelo could actually face ‘Bud’ Crawford in a rematch next, De La Hoya has spoken out and revealed exactly what he believes his former protégé is going to want to do next.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, De La Hoya said that he expects Canelo to target a ‘soft opponent’ next although he doesn’t believe Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh will allow this to happen.
“I think Canelo is going to try and pick a soft opponent for his next fight, given the fact that he has such a lucrative contract with Turki [Alalshikh], I don’t think Turki’s gonna let him.
“I don’t think Turki will allow him to fight a softie you know because there’s a lot of money being paid out to Canelo, so Turki is going to demand his moneys worth, he’s gonna demand fighting the very best.”
Canelo signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season earlier this year, prior to his monumental showdown with Crawford.
The 35-year-old has a further two fights left on his deal with Alalshikh, although it remains to be seen when exactly he will be making his return to the ring after he sustained an injury to his elbow which he is set to have surgery on this month.
