Welcome to The Red Corner, a brand new boxing and MMA column brought to you by the Amarillo Pioneer, covering the world of boxing and mixed martial arts. This column will bring you news, opinions, and quick facts that you need to know about the fights that make the sports world pay attention.

By Thomas Warren III

On Saturday night, globally recognized boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez unified the 168-pound titles, winning an eleventh round knockout over Caleb Plant, a then-undefeated American super middleweight who presented what was the last title holding challenge for the Mexican-born star.

With Alvarez now sitting atop the division, having unified all of the belts in the division after claiming victories in the division over Rocky Fielding, Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, and Plant, many are now speculating as to what lies ahead for the man who is arguably boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter.

For those who watched Alvarez’s fight on Saturday night, it was clear to see that the things that made him the right man to unify the 168-pound division also are the things that make him a champion who could rule the division for years to come. While Alvarez undoubtedly lost several close rounds to Plant, all it took was for him to find the shots in the eleventh round that first knocked down Plant and ultimately finished him. And while his win over Plant was impressive, it is important to remember that Alvarez’s power has carried with him throughout nearly every division he has entered, including at light heavyweight, where he scored a knockout win over Sergey Kovalev in 2019.

Looking ahead, Canelo’s slick boxing skills and destructive power make him a difficult man for any boxer to face, no matter the level at which they presently or have previously competed. Three of Alvarez’s last four opponents — Smith, Saunders, and Plant — have all been decorated and slick boxers who fell short when they met Alvarez in the ring. And only one of those men — Smith — actually made it to the end of the fight with Alvarez, dropping a unanimous decision to the champion.

There have been calls for Alvarez to go back and fight Gennady Golovkin for a third time. Golovkin, a Kazakhstani power puncher faced Alvarez in two fights of the year in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In the first fight, many viewers, including myself, felt Alvarez deserved to lose the fight to Golovkin, despite the judges ruling the fight a draw. In the second fight, many viewed the fight as one that truly deserved the draw ruling, but Alvarez was handed the victory.

Golovkin, who is now 39, still poses a real threat to many fighters in the division and would still likely claim victories over most of the top fighters at middleweight. However, Golovkin would likely have to move up to 168 pounds to face Alvarez, which could put him at a real disadvantage against the Mexican star. Personally, while I am still a huge fan in Golovkin and a real believer in his ability to defeat the top stars in the middleweight division, I am not interested in seeing a third fight between the pair. It seems the skill difference at 168 pounds would be so great between the two men that the fight would be much less competitive than the other two fights and would like put Golovkin at a real risk of being knocked out for the first time in his career.

There is also the possibility that Alvarez could stay at 168 pounds and face the remaining challengers that super middleweight has to offer. However, the best fighters behind Alvarez in the division would still likely be large betting underdogs heading into their fights with the champion and might not be large enough box office attractions to warrant major pay-per-view events.

Alvarez could also stick around between middleweight and super middleweight to take on several popular middleweight foes, either at 160 pounds or at 168 pounds. Fans would likely welcome bouts between Alvarez and middleweight stars like Demetrius Andrade, David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, and Golovkin, although the best weight for these bouts to be contested at would still be up for debate.

The one place where I could see the most intriguing set of new fights for Alvarez could be at light heavyweight, where he already owns a win over Kovalev. Fights with both Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev could be interesting bouts for Alvarez, who would likely be a great candidate to unify the titles at 175 pounds. Additionally, a fight with the newly-crowned WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. would likely interest many fans.

Overall, there are many potential bouts that could be options for Alvarez. At the end of the day, however, it will be worth it for boxing fans to tune in for almost any bout in which Alvarez is involved. As one of the biggest draws in boxing today, any Alvarez fight is sure to be a true event for the fans who tune in.