World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is in line to face the winner of next month’s bout between WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. While the victor between Canelo and Cotto is yet to be confirmed, with the fight still four weeks away, Oscar De La Hoya already have his sights in a Canelo-Golovkin fight.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO De La Hoya claimed he is open to book a Canelo-Golovkin match if his fighter wins over Cotto in November, after the undefeated Kazakh’s victorious pay-per-view debut against David Lemieux via eight-round technical knockou (TKO). De La Hoya told SecondsOut that there is no reason not to book the Mexican challenger against Golovkin and added that it would “eventually” happen.

However, Dan Ambrose of Boxing News 24 believes De La Hoya’s statement suggests that Canelo would not face Golovkin for some time, which is “possibly two or three years.”

“When someone says it will 'eventually' happen, it often means that it either won’t ever happen at all or it will happen a long time in the future,” Ambrose wrote. “I think De La Hoya is not interested in putting his golden goose Canelo in with Golovkin right now while the Kazakhstan fighter is still young at 33 and in his prime.”

Ambrose claimed that De La Hoya is trying to maximise the fights and deals he could get with Canelo and does not want his prized fighter to get beaten by Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) in early 2016, which will wind up a big blow to his Golden Boy stable. Ambrose also noted that if De La Hoya tries to shove Canelo into a match with Golovkin as early as next year, the Mexican fighter could get the same result that Lemieux suffered.

However, Canelo could be Golovkin’s toughest test if the former could overcome Cotto in their middleweight bout at Mandalay Bay in November. Canelo boasts an impressive record of 45 wins, one loss and one draw, along with 32 knockouts. His loss only came at the hands of retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. Canelo has won three in a row, including two via stoppage, ever since.

Cotto, meanwhile, has bounced back from two straight losses against Mayweather and Austin Trout in 2012, defeating Delvin Rodriguez (TKO), Sergio Gabriel Martinez (RTD) and Daniel Geale (TKO). However, according to Alec Nathan of Bleacher Report, none of those whom Cotto recently defeated has power punches like Golovkin.

Golovkin does not seem to mind whoever comes at him next, with plenty of opponents to choose from, with his current status as a boxing star. However, according to “GGG” himself, it appears the first thing in his checklist is to conquer the middleweight division and become the undisputed champion in that weight class.

"I want all the belts, now I have two,” Golovkin said, reports Yahoo Sports. “[I want] the winner of Cotto-Canelo, for sure.”

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