Junior Middleweight

Not many people outside the boxing community knew the name Austin Trout before Saturday night. But with his decisive unanimous-decision victory over Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto in front of over 13,000 hostile fans, that's about to change.

Trout dominated Cotto and became the first man to beat him at MSG, winning in stunningly lopsided fashion by utilizing his jab and forcing Cotto to fight from the outside where he was never able to get his offensive attack working. 

With the win Trout successfully defended his WBA super welterweight championship and left his foe battered, bruised and beaten in a fight few expected him to win.

One of the few who felt he would win was Austin Trout himself, who said he was treating this match as his one and only shot at boxing glory.

He knew how hard it was to get to this stage. He took the long road here, often traveling the globe, not just for big fights, but for any fights at all. 

Even with the WBA championship, which he had to fight for and win in Mexico, nobody was in a rush to face him.

And perhaps now we know why. 

Trout is a tremendous boxer. He's a southpaw with a long reach, stiff jab and a confidence about him that says he can beat anybody if he just gets a chance.

He now has reason to be hopeful that more chances will come his way. 

In speaking with me earlier in the week, Austin Trout described boxing as a house, and said he was forced to climb through the window to get inside. 

Now that he's beaten Miguel Cotto, he's not only in the house, he's got his own set of keys. And the view from inside is much nicer than looking through that window.

"It looks good. I'm happy that I can sit on the couch and kick my feet up. But that doesn't mean in no way that I'm gonna get comfortable. This is where the hard work starts," Trout told me at the post-fight press conference.

"I understand staying on top is harder than getting to the top. In some eyes I might not even be on the top yet. I'm just gonna keep working, keep climbing."

The next logical mountain to climb for Trout could be the man that would in all likelihood have faced Miguel Cotto in May had he won tonight—Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

Like Trout, Alvarez also holds a belt at 154 pounds, and was at ringside for the fight, presumably to scout Cotto.

Trout was as decisive in describing who he wants next as he was in defeating Cotto in the ring. In one word—Canelo.

"Canelo should be next. That would be my dream scenario. He wants to fight May 5 and I think that's perfect timing," said Trout.

He also didn't hesitate, in somewhat uncharacteristic fashion, to take a little shot at his potential future opponent.

"To me logically in my mind he should be wanting to fight me. Not to mention I have a belt. Why would you not want to unify? There's nothing left for him to do besides fight a real junior middleweight."

In calling out Canelo Alvarez, Trout also pointed out what has become a frequent criticism of the rising Mexican star—that he has yet to face a true junior middleweight challenger.

He would certainly get that in Austin Trout, who after tonight could force people to ask the question—is Canelo Alvarez ready for Austin Trout—and not the other way around.

The product of Las Cruces, New Mexico has now proved that he's a legitimate champion and force to be reckoned with at 154 pounds. A fight with Alvarez would be another great stylistic matchup between a boxer and a banger.

While he is certainly ready, it wouldn't be a surprise at all if the people at Golden Boy Promotions find a way to keep this fight from happening. 

It's another in that long line of high-risk, low-reward matchups, and with the emphasis on big-money, get-rich-quick type fights it may never happen. 

But it should. The best fight the best. 

And Miguel Cotto deserves a ton of credit for taking on a challenge that nobody else wanted. They must've known something the rest of us did not.

If there was any doubt, there is "no doubt" now. Austin Trout is for real.

And he might just be the best fighter not named Mayweather in the 154-pound division.

Kevin McRae is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report who covers all things boxing. Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained by the writer personally.

If you could sum up the career of Miguel Cotto in just one word it would be "tough." He's been through wars—against Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito among others—and has never left a fight without leaving it all in the ring. 

At 32, which is not old but a tricky age in boxing, could all these ring wars and his age finally catch up to him?

It's something that Cotto says he isn't worried about:

"I've just put myself through a hard training camp just to be the winner. And it's as it was in my whole career," Cotto said Monday. "I'm here to face Austin [Trout] next Saturday. I'm here to win and I'm not going to rest until I get it."

One thing that can never be questioned about Miguel Cotto is his determination. He’s become boxing's example of the superstar who refuses to die.

Many were writing him off after his devastating knockout defeat at the hands of Antonio Margarito in 2008. Even more jumped off the bandwagon when he suffered another crushing knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao just over a year later.

But Miguel Cotto isn't interested in the critics or those who tell him he can't do something.

He just loves to fight and turned in one of the best performances of his career, albeit in a losing effort, against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. this past May. It was a fight he says gave his career a jump-start and in the eyes of many signaled he was still able to compete at an elite level.

But the question that has yet to be answered is whether Cotto’s performance was the beginning of a resurgence or a last hurrah.

One tremendous advantage Cotto will get will be from the partisan crowd, with few traveling to MSG on a cold Saturday night in December to cheer for Austin Trout.

New York is a second home for the four-time world champion Cotto, and he will have the backing of over 20,000 people cheering his every move. It will be the type of atmosphere his opponent has never seen before, despite his previous fights in Panama and Mexico against popular local fighters.

And it's something that can be quite intimidating—many a fighter has lost a fight before stepping into the ring—but also adds tremendous pressure on the hometown guy to put on a good show.

Cotto has been down this road many times before. He’s undefeated in seven fights at MSG, and he’s just going to enjoy the experience.

"I'm just thankful for being here and I'm going to do my best, just for all of the fans and all of the people who are going to be there for me. I don't know what will pass through Austin's mind, but I'm going to enjoy the whole night,” Cotto said.

It’s this experience gap, and the enormity of the moment, that many feel will catch up with Austin Trout when the two meet in the ring on Saturday night.

But to dismiss Trout as another fighter who will wilt under the big lights shows a lack of understanding of the man and what makes him tick.

Many feel that Trout could do himself wonders, win or lose, if he puts in a good performance on this stage. But the 27-year-old doesn’t feel like he’s coming to the ring to defend just his WBA championship, he feels his entire career could be on the line.

“I feel like the powers that be don’t necessarily want me in the boxing game because I feel like I’m a thorn in everybody’s sides. A loss will be the best way for them to get me outta there. So losing is really not an option,” Trout said.

More than anything, he’s young, hungry and determined to show he belongs. Make no mistake about it, he’s coming to win and nothing less will do.

“Even if I still perform to the best of my ability [in a loss]. I think that they won’t let me in. And they didn’t let me in anyway I had to kinda climb through the window.”

The stage is set for a very intriguing matchup. Both fighters feel they have something to prove, and beyond that, feel they’re fighting for their careers.

It’s the classic battle of age and experience against youth and determination.

It could well come down to whomever feels they have more to fight for—and which man feels they have more to lose.

Kevin McRae is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained personally

As ESPN's Dan Rafael aptly pointed out in a recent blog post, sometimes the best way for two avoided prizefighters to secure an import bout is for them to fight each other. Both Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan have had trouble luring marquee names into the ring, and their decision to fight one another in a junior middleweight title eliminator carried significant stakes for both men.

Having garnered deserved HBO exposure, the fight figured to be hotly contested, given the pedigree of both Lara (17-1-2, 11 KO) and Martirosyan (32-0-1, 20 KO), and the bout itself ultimately featured high-intensity and plenty of fouls.

And the result? Well, a clash of heads forced a premature ending, and both fighters had to settle for a technical draw via scores of 86-85 (Martirosyan), 87-84 (Lara) and 86-86.

Both men set a brisk pace in Round 1, but the difference ended up being Lara's straight left hand to the body. Lara had solid success landing this punch behind his southpaw jab, and while Martirosyan, a 2004 U.S. Olympian, threw big shots, he only landed one right hand of note.

Lara continued to work Martirosyan's body in Round 2 behind his right jab. While Martirosyan was somewhat wild with his combinations, he did back Lara up with some hooks, even if most of them were blocked. The round did feature a clash of heads, and Lara closed the frame on his back foot.

Lara's well-schooled defensive skills frustrated Martirosyan in Round 3, which, perhaps, prompted him to hit Lara on the break after he'd been put in a headlock. While Lara landed an excellent right uppercut, Martirosyan consistently backed him up, even if he wasn't landing clean shots.

The intensity continued to ratchet up in Round 4 when Lara hit Martirosyan with a low blow. Undeterred, Martirosyan displayed dogged aggression, and he taunted the less energetic Lara. The fight continued to take a dirty turn in Round 5 as Martirosyan was again caught hitting on the break. Still, he landed a solid right hand, though Lara returned fire with a few straight lefts of his own.

Martirosyan started off Round 7 well by cutting Lara with an overhand right. Lara, however, began to find appropriate range for his straight left hand, and he landed several eye-catching blows and consistently evaded Martirosyan's assaults. 

Lara continued his solid work by landing left hands and using movement to confound Martirosyan, but the fight came to abrupt end 26 seconds into Round 9 when a massive clash of heads opened up a cut over Martirosyan's left eye and severely obstructed his vision.

Despite the abbreviated ninth stanza, the judges were forced to score the round. This frustratingly ended up resulting in a premature ending to an intense and intriguing prizefight. Given the unfortunate nature of the fight's conclusion and verdict, a rematch is certainly in order.

Martirosyan accused Lara of running like an amateur fighter, while Lara countered by suggesting that he clearly deserved the verdict, insinuating that the Top Rank-promoted card favored Martirosyan; it should, of course, be noted that Lara fights under the Golden Boy promotional banner.

There seems to be an abundance of bad blood between both fighters, and a rematch, though it could be equally sloppy, will have no shortage of drama. 

On the undercard, featherweight prospected Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (30-0, 26 KO) scored a sensational eighth-round knockout over former WBA 126-pound belt-holder Jonathan Victor Barros (34-4-1, 18 KO).

A cagey start mostly consisted of both Garcia and Barros exchanging jabs in the center of the ring. Garcia, who is extremely poised and calculated for a 24-year-old, worked behind a stiff jab and landed a nice straight right hand toward the end of the stanza. Barros threw the harder hooks, but Garcia parried most of them.

The action opened up in Round 2, and Barros started well by doubling his jab and throwing some hard hooks to Garcia's body. Garcia responded with a solid one-two, his right-hand shot knocking Barros off-balance. Backing Barros up against the ropes, Garcia let his hands go, punctuating combinations with left hooks to Barros' body.

Barros started out Round 3 with more activity, throwing a four-punch combination that was mostly blocked, though a right hook to the body did connect. Garcia picked up his pace in the stanza's second half, landing a few solid right hands and incorporating a lead left hook into his offense. 

Garcia continued to pump his jab, sometimes doubling and tripling the punch. Barros, who had been overly defensive to this point, finally started to engage with more consistency.

He landed well to Garcia's body, especially with his right hook, and a five-punch combination backed Garcia up. Garcia, however, came roaring back, landing a series of combinations, including a hard right hand followed by two hooks to close Round 4. 

Garcia began Round 5 by landing a solid, counter left hook, but Barros continued to apply pressure and let his hands go. Several jabs followed by right hands worked well for Barros, though Garcia probably landed the round's hardest punch when he connected with a right hand around Barros' guard that landed on his ear.

The action intensified in Round 6 as Garcia and Barros spent the last minute of the stanza standing in the pocket and slugging. Both men landed well to the body and were throwing powerful right hands. While many blows were partially blocked by both men, Garcia appeared to land the harder shots.

Barros started off well in Round 7 as he hurt Garcia with a left hook. Barros, however, was unable to capitalize as Garcia regained control of the stanza by again working behind his jab. Barros did try to muster more offense, but Garcia was able to avoid most of his combinations. That said, Barros likely won the round by virtue of having been more aggressive.

A case could be made that Barros was gaining momentum, but that came to an abrupt end when Garcia landed an absolutely monstrous left hook that knocked Barros silly. Barros reeled backward before falling forward, and he rose on unsteady legs at the count of eight.

Referee Robert Byrd asked Barros if he wanted to continue, and the Argentine fighter, who had turned his back to Garcia, said, "no mas," prompting the stoppage. 

Garcia was originally supposed to face WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido, but an injury forced Salido to withdraw. Garcia has firmly established himself as one of the top contenders at featherweight, and the prospect of a fight against Salido should have boxing fans salivating.

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the 22 year old Mexican boxer, WBC light middleweight title holder and veteran of 42 professional fights, is looking for a fight. He informed RingTV.com in September of his wish list following his domination of Josesito Lopez. The list is three names long and is a signal of intent from Alvarez and a long-needed step in the right direction.

For such a young fighter, Alvarez has been in a lot of fights.

However, when you consider the limited amateur background he has—just 20 amateur bouts—he is actually behind many fighters in terms of in-ring experience. Floyd Mayweather Jr. had 90 amateur bouts before turning pro.

Alvarez has been touted as the next big thing in boxing and has been labelled overrated and protected to equal degrees. In truth, he seems to currently lie somewhere between the two.

Alvarez is a talented young boxer whose rise to prominence was a carefully crafted piece of maneuvering by his management team that took place before he had faced a level of opposition to justify it. 

One thing that Alvarez's intentions appear to signal is that he is ready to show the world that he is what he has been hyped to be. The three names on the list are definitely a sign that he is not happy to sit back and count his cash while facing lesser opposition; he wants to face the best.

The three he has apparently requested in his meeting with Golden Boy Promotion executives are Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez. He has also signaled he would like to fight one of these opponents on May 5th. If granted the opportunity against one of these fighters, who should Canelo face?

Floyd Mayweather

Lets start with the biggest of the three, Floyd Mayweather.

Love him or hate him there is no denying the greatness of Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is undefeated as a professional boxer, a title holder over five divisions and a defensive boxing master. Mayweather has long been considered one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world.

Mayweather combines blistering hand speed with a superb defensive technique, lightning-quick reflexes and pinpoint-accurate counterpunching. OK, in case you couldn't tell, I think Mayweather is the best active boxer around. However, at some point age may begin to creep in and dull one or more of these senses and make the playing field a little more even.

It's not the first time Alvarez has spoken about wanting to face Mayweather.

He stated as much before his bout with Shane Mosley. The fight against Mayweather never happened, but the desire to test himself against the best hasn't gone away.

Mayweather will not have fought in a year come May 2013.

While that is not unusual for Mayweather, a portion of that year was spent in a small cell during his incarceration from June to August of this year. I expected Mayweather to fight in November or December of this year to shake off the rust before taking on a big opponent in May. Maybe he feels he is in great shape and is just planning a May date for a blockbuster fight.

It is hard to tell with Mayweather.

Miguel Cotto

Cotto appears to have vanquished the demons he carried following his controversial loss to Antonio Margarito, a loss made controversial by Margarito being caught with loaded gloves prior to his defeat at the hands of Shane Mosley.

Looking back at the way Margarito brutally wore down Cotto in their first bout has me questioning whether his gloves were loaded going into the fight, a fight in which Cotto didn't send a member of his team to monitor the wrapping of Margarito's hands.

Following a blue patch that included the Margarito loss, a bloody battle with Joshua Clottey and a brutal beating by Manny Pacquiao, Cotto has returned to the top of the game. Moving up a weight class, winning a world title (again), successfully defending the title twice, avenging the Margarito loss and earning a fight with Mayweather has brought Cotto back to the top.

The loss to Mayweather hasn't hurt Cotto's reputation. After all, there's no harm in losing to the best when you drag them through a 12-round battle with you.

Sergio Martinez

Coming into his own later in his career, Martinez has shown himself to be a tremendous fighter in the last few years. His hand speed, movement, accuracy and power have allowed him to defeat bigger men than him in the Middleweight division and achieve several titles in the process.

In his most recent bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Martinez dominated the first 11 rounds against his much bigger opponent. He also showed great heart late in the fight to not only get up from a late knockdown but continue to take the fight to Chavez after the knockout. Many would have back peddled to ensure they win on points and not be knocked out.

Martinez, like Alvarez, has also stated his desire to face Mayweather. Will either one get that fight, or will they face each other?

Conclusion

Any one of these fights would be considered a test to Alvarez, who, in spite of holding a title and being an undefeated fighter with over 40 bouts, has yet to face competition of this level. Kintron and Mosley were shadows of their former selves. Rhodes, N'Dou and Baldomir are not even close to the level of competition of the three names on his wish list.

Each fighter brings a different threat to Alvarez.

While both Mayweather and Martinez would bring great hand speed to negotiate, Mayweather also has a defense that many have tried to get through and few have succeeded. With Alvarez's action-packed style, Mayweather could simply sit back and deflect blows before landing perfectly placed counters that will slow Canelo round by round.

Mayweather would also take advantage of the stiff upper body Alvarez often fights with.

With his constant pressure, Alvarez is a pretty static fighter with little lateral movement and almost no body movement. He provides a constant target to a fighter like Mayweather. Mayweather doesn't even have to be half as accurate as normal to hit what's always going to be right in front of him.

For me, a matchup with Mayweather right now is just a bad idea all around for Alvarez.

Mayweather will handle him with ease and Alvarez will be slated as overrated by everybody when the praise should really go to Mayweather's excellence, but that's another story all together.

Like Mayweather, Martinez will exploit the lack of movement Alvarez presents.

Unlike Mayweather, Martinez will also be there to hit. Martinez's defense is simply nowhere close to Mayweather's, and he gets caught by a lot of punches a man with his speed and athleticism should be able to avoid.

If Canelo can avoid Martinez's blows, or even keep so much pressure on Martinez that he cannot get any offense going, Canelo has a chance to knock Martinez out. Chavez almost managed it. Canelo has dedication to the craft and could follow through to the finish.

Cotto is not the fighter he once was, and I mean that in a good way.

The Cotto of old was predictable. He was going to lower his head and bull through you. He swung to the body with fury and then worked the head. Today, Cotto still pressures when the timing is right but has learned to sit behind his boxing and wait for the openings to present themselves.

This calmness and calculated attack that Cotto has added into his game makes him a dangerous opponent for Canelo, who reminds me at times of the young Cotto. Canelo can get ragged at times as he looks to apply more pressure, and this could be his undoing against somebody like Cotto, who is now content to sit and wait.

I think the most sensible fight for Canelo at this point in his career is Sergio Martinez.

Martinez will be coming back from a knee and hand injury, which could take the edge off his speed and a little snap from his punches. He is also fairly easy to hit and has been decked several times in his career, although he recovers quickly from knockdowns and takes the fight to his opponent as he recovers.

Against the other two, I see defeats for Canelo that would be damaging to his reputation.

Against Martinez, however, I think he has a better than even chance of winning. Even if he loses, it will be passed off as Martinez once again being underrated rather than Canelo being overrated.

My choice is Martinez vs. Alvarez.

My prediction is a ninth-round knockout victory for Alvarez.

Current WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is hoping for a huge 2013, expressing that he wants to fight Miguel Cotto and pound-for-pound best, Floyd Mayweather Jr. according to EastsideBoxing.com.

Golden Boy advisor Don Chargin told Eastside Boxing:

“If 'Canelo' has his way, he will fight Floyd Mayweather on May 4 of next year. That’s what his team wants and that’s the fight that he has wanted for the last eight months. 'Canelo' wants Mayweather first and Miguel Cotto second in 2013. Those are the two fighters that he really wants next year.”

Despite "Canelo's" wishes, Chargin said that if he had it his way he wouldn't want Alvarez (41-0, 30 KOs) facing Mayweather or Cotto for another year, as the 22-year-old fighter could benefit from the added time in the ring.

At this point in "Canelo's" career, he has the skill set to give anyone a real fight in the ring, but Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) and Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) are two of the sport's best fighters of the last decade and Alvarez may be biting off more than he can chew trying to fight both of them in 2013.

As noted in the Eastsideboxing.com piece, the winner of the November 10 clash between Erislandy Lara (17-1-1, 11 KOs) and Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 KOs) is who many in the boxing world feel should fight "Canelo" next.

Fighting the winner of the Lara-Martirosyan bout would be the wide decision on Alvarez's part, as it would be one more tune-up bout against a high-caliber opponent before taking on two of the best boxing has to offer in Mayweather and Cotto.

So even pushing a possible Mayweather bout to next May and opting to fight the winner of Lara-Martirosyan this spring and still facing Cotto in the second half of 2013 would be a wiser plan for "Canelo".

No matter which way Alvarez's possible 2013 unfolds, his star will continue to rise and he will cement himself as one of the P4P best fighters in the world today.

It's been a whirlwind few days for former WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. 

A dispute over which promoter represented him, both Golden Boy Promotions and Lou DiBella's DiBella Entertainment made a claim, had held up negotiations for a return to the ring.

It now appears that at least for his next fight, Golden Boy Promotions has won the job.

"I made a deal with Andre, and his manager, to step aside for this fight," Dibella told Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com.

"I think it's a great opportunity for Andre and I won't stand in his way. I'm happy with the deal and I will be working with Andre in his future fights."

The deal was brokered by DiBella and Berto's manager Al Haymon and will likely lead to a fight between Berto (28-1 22 KO)  and IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage in November.

This comes after reports surfaced earlier this week that Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer was hoping to secure this fight for Berto.

The story angered DiBella, who claimed Schaefer had no right to speak for a fighter he had recently been reassured he was still representing.

"Richard could keep talking and say whatever the f*** Richard wants to say. I'm not going to worry about what Richard Schaefer is saying," DiBella told BoxingScene.com's Bill Emes.

"I've been assured that I am Berto's promoter."

DiBella upped the ante, accusing Schaefer and Golden Boy of trying to force other promoters out of business by poaching fighters.

With a deal reached between the two sides it now appears increasingly likely that Berto will return to the ring on November 24th in the main event of a card televised by HBO. 

Bundrage (32-4 19 KO) won the IBF junior middleweight title in 2010, defeating Cory Spinks by fifth-round TKO. He has successfully defended the title twice.

The fight will be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. As for Berto's future fights, that is yet to be seen.

Follow @McRaeBoxing

Saul Canelo Alvarez, fresh off a fifth-round TKO of Josesito Lopez, is targeting one more fight in 2012 before moving on to bigger and better things in the new year. 

Alvarez, the WBC junior middleweight champion, hopes to return to the ring in December. According to a report from Ernesto Castellano of BoxingScene.com, Canelo's management is hoping that fight will be against James Kirkland. 

Kirkland had previously been scheduled to face Alvarez on September 15th, but pulled out due to injury and monetary concerns. After Josesito Lopez stopped Victor Ortiz, and broke his jaw, he became the next viable challenger. 

Kirkland is currently engaged in a legal tussle with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions over the status of his contract with the company.

If this is not resolved in time, then Alvarez's team will once again be searching for a new opponent.

Regardless of who Canelo faces in December, his team has their sights set on huge things for the new year. 

According to BoxingScene.com, Alvarez's manager, Eddy Reynoso, hopes to book his fighter for a May 4, 2013 showdown against either former WBA champion Miguel Cotto or pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Cotto, who lost his last bout by unanimous decision to Mayweather, hopes to capture the WBA junior middleweight title when he faces champion Austin Trout in December.

Mayweather has also not fought since his May victory over Cotto and after serving 87 days in a Nevada jail for misdemeanor battery.

Either fight would represent a huge step-up in class for Alvarez, who at 22 years old is still establishing himself in the sport.

Saul Alvarez dismantled Josesito Lopez Saturday night in Las Vegas, stopping him in the fifth round. The stoppage was technically a bit premature, but it was justified, as Lopez had no real chance to defeat Alvarez.

Canelo improved to 41-0 with 30 knockouts, but the wins don't have a ton of weight.

Lopez showed tremendous heart, but he was just too small to offer Canelo a legitimate challenge.

That said, Canelo is still largely untested. He has a gaudy record, but he still doesn't own a win over a competitor who has really pushed him. 

Even though the battle with Lopez was one-sided, Canelo was hit with some solid shots. I have to wonder what the fight would have looked like if he was hit with those shots by a legitimate super welterweight.

Alvarez is an amazing offensive fighter, but his defense is still very suspect. He holds his guards open, and he doesn't move his head a lot.

Perhaps he'd be sharper on defense if he had to respect his opponent's punching power. Because Canelo hasn't faced a formidable challenger, we still don't know his whole story.

Up to now, his most impressive win is a unanimous decision over a 41-year-old Shane Mosley. He also stopped a washed up Kermit Cintron in five rounds. Cintron has lost three of his last four fights, and the loss to Canelo may have ended his career.

As game as Lopez was in this match, like all of Canelo's opponents to date, he was overmatched. If Canelo is to be considered one of the sport's elite fighters, he must beat someone of substance.

Based on what we saw from both prize fights on September 15, I'd rate Canelo third behind Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.

A slick boxer with power like Martinez would have a much better shot at exposing Alvarez's defensive issues. His southpaw stance would only add to the challenge. A brawler with a granite chin like Chavez, Jr. may be able to wear Canelo down.

Then again, he may be the real deal. At this point, we really don't know.

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