Who will Canelo fight next - Golovkin, Pacquiao or Lemieux?

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  • Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez proved size really does matter as he ended the discussion against Amir Khan with a chilling knock-out 23 seconds before the end of round six at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    Khan had gambled here in Vegas by jumping up two weight classes from welterweight to challenge for the lineal and WBC middleweight titles against the bigger man in Alvarez but the risk did not pay off for the Englishman.

    Huge fights now loom for Canelo as he bids to cement his place as one of the biggest attractions in the sport, while Khan, who suffered the fourth defeat of his 35-fight career, faces another rebuilding job.

    Here, Declan Taylor looks at what could be next for Canelo.

    1) GENNADY GOLOVKIN

    This is a fight that simply has to happen. Golovkin, arguably the biggest puncher on the planet, is the mandatory challenger to Canelo’s WBC belt and the governing body have ordered the pair to fight next. Of course, that means little in boxing. Canelo could simply vacate the belt and avoid having to fight Golovkin, who insists he will not drop below the 160lb middleweight limit – like Khan did – to face the Mexican. But Mexicans are proud, proud boxing people and Canelo would never live it down if it looked like he had ‘ducked’ Golovkin in any way.

    2) MANNY PACQUIAO
    One of the more surprising suggestions of fight week was Bob Arum revealing that his fighter, Manny Pacquiao, could be the next opponent for Canelo. Pacquiao claimed last month’s victory over Timothy Bradley was the final outing of his glittering career but many expect the Filipino to fight again, especially if he fails to win a seat in the Senate back home. Pacman is a multi-weight champion and victory over Canelo at middleweight would represent yet another one on his record.

    3) DAVID LEMIEUX
    Montreal middleweight Lemieux sparkled on the undercard here in Vegas, stopping Glen Tapia in the fourth round of their contest. With 32 knockouts from his 35 wins, Lemieux is a genuine crowd pleaser and a clash with Canelo would be about as fan friendly as it gets. Like Canelo, the 27-year-old is also promoted by Golden Boy so, in theory, it would be an easy fight to make however it remains to be seen whether Oscar De La Hoya would want to match two of his big stars against each other. Golovkin has already beaten Lemieux, though, stopping him in eight back in October.

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