By Dan Ambrose: According to Jim Lampley of HBO, WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO’s) could be facing #2 WBC James Kirkland next on September 15th on HBO at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, followed by a December fight against former WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Lampley said that Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, mentioned that scenario for the 21-year-old Alvarez in his upcoming bouts in 2012. Schaefer said that Alvarez has been asking him almost daily about a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he’s still going to wait on that fight rather than rushing Alvarez in too soon.

I like both the Kirkland and Cotto fights, as both are dangerous bouts for Alvarez given the limited experience he’s got at this point in his career. I think Cotto is a very winnable fight for Alvarez, because with his heavy hands and ability to throw uppercuts, he could have Cotto out of there very early unless Cotto runs. If Mayweather was able to hurt Cotto with one of his left uppercuts, imagine what a big puncher like Alvarez would do to Cotto. I think it would be a slaughter, and I’d be surprised if Coto agrees to take the fight.

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Cotto would be in a no win situation if he took the Alvarez fight, because if he beats him, people will point out that Alvarez is totally inexperienced and only 21. By the same token, if Cotto loses to Alvarez, then it will hurt his career in a big way. It’s one thing getting beaten by Mayweather, Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao, but quite another thing to get taken apart by a young fighter like Alvarez.

Kirkland could give Alvarez a lot of problems with his power and high pressure style of fighting. Alvarez looked to be gassing out late in his fight with Shane Mosley on May 5th due to the fast pace Mosley set out. However, Mosley didn’t have Kirkland’s power or size, and he pretty much was like a small boat without a paddle. He wasn’t equipped to compete with the younger, stronger and bigger Alvarez and it was a painfully one-sided loss for Mosley.