Miguel Cotto
Miguel Cotto will put his middleweight title on the line against Daniel Geale on June 6. Reuters

After knocking out James Kirkland in the third round of Saturday’s fight, Canelo Alvarez has his eyes set on Miguel Cotto and the WBC middleweight championship. Cotto will defend his title on June 6 against Daniel Geale, but the wheels are in motion to make Cotto vs. Alvarez happen in 2015.

"We'll definitely be watching Cotto's fight very closely," Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said, following Alvarez’s victory. "Our intention is to make a superfight, Canelo with Cotto. If it doesn't work out, we'll move on to Plan B."

Fighting for the first time in 10 months, Alvarez looked as sharp as ever. He promised that his bout with James Kirkland would be more exciting after many fans were disappointed with Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, and the 24-year-old more than delivered. In less than three full rounds, Alvarez landed more punches than Pacquiao did during the entire mega-fight, knocking Kirkland down twice before finally putting him on the canvas for good.

The victory makes three straight wins for Alvarez, following his loss to Mayweather in Sept. 2013. If Cotto can take care of business in his upcoming bout, Alvarez will likely face the champ later this year.

It’s not a given that Cotto will defeat Geale, though he is a -600 favorite at Bovada.lv. Cotto has won two straight fights in dominant fashion, but he hasn’t fought since he defeated Sergio Martinez a year ago. Geale beat Jarrod Fletcher in a unanimous decision in December, but he previously suffered a third-round knockout to Gennady Golovkin in July.

Before Mayweather and Pacquiao agreed to fight on May 2, it appeared that Alvarez and Cotto would meet on that day. But talks were eventually called off when Cotto did not meet the deadline set by Alvarez’s camp.

A pay-per-view between Alvarez and Cotto could be the second-biggest of the year, falling short only to Mayweather-Pacquiao. Alvarez is the most popular Mexican boxer, and his fight against Mayweather generated 2.2 million buys and set a then-record as the most profitable PPV of all time. Cotto is the only Puerto Rican to win titles in four different weight classes.

Alvarez said he hopes to fight again in September or October. Before defeating Kirkland on Saturday, he topped Erislandy Lara on July 12 in a split decision.

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