Saul "Canelo" Alvarez played down reports about an ongoing negotiation to face Manny Pacquiao in his next fight later this year.

In an interview with BoxingScene, Alvarez reiterated that there are no ongoing negotiations about a possible showdown with Pacquiao, insisting that the Pacquiao vs Alvarez fight talks are just plain rumors.

Alvarez pointed out that the rumors spread because the media speculated that Top Rank Promotions, who handle Pacquiao, and Golden Boy Promotions, who promote Alvarez, are already discussing about the super fight when Oscar De La Hoya said that he is patching things up with Bob Arum.

De La Hoya previously expressed willingness to end Golden Boy Promotions' rift with Arum's Top Rank Promotion, but Alvarez insisted that no fight was discussed.

"These are nothing more than rumors, rumors because Oscar spoke to Arum to make peace but never discussed this fight. The media began to speculate, but it was never discussed," Alvarez said.

The former junior middleweight champion is currently preparing for his upcoming fight against WBA super welterweight champion Erislandy Lara on July 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

But when asked if he is willing to face Pacquiao in the future, Alvarez admitted that he will agree to face the former pound-for-pound king to prove that he is one of the best fighters in the world today.

"Right now we have Lara, but [if that fight comes along, Pacquiao is] clearly one of the best, and you have to fight the best," Alvarez said.

De La Hoya also sounded like he is not planning to pit Alvarez against Pacquiao in the near future, saying that Canelo could face either Miguel Cotto or Sergio Martinez later this year. The former boxing champion said that the winner of the Alvarez-Lara fight will face the winner of the Cotto-Martinez showdown.

"Cotto-Martinez is a very, very interesting fight, and it will be a good fight. I wish both of them luck. Martinez is a great fighter and so is Cotto, and the winner is in line to face Lara or Canelo," De La Hoya said via BoxingScene.

Golden Boy Promotions offered a $10 million guaranteed purse to Cotto earlier this year to face Alvarez, but the Puerto Rican turned down the offer.

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