World Boxing Council middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez could face newly crowned World Boxing Organization champion Billy Joe Saunders in a unification bout.

Saunders, who captured the WBO title from its former owner Andy "Irish" Lee on Dec. 19 at Manchester Arena in Lancashire, U.K. via a majority decision, knows whom he wants to fight next season, per The Guardian.

The undefeated boxer, who reportedly knocked down Lee twice on the third round, is eyeing a showdown with either Puerto Rico's pride Miguel Cotto or the Mexican rising star "Canelo," Boxing Scene noted.

"I've beat Chris Eubank Jr and Spike (O'Sullivan) and now I've beat the world champ Andy Lee. I want Cotto or Canelo," the 26-year-old titleholder said.

Alvarez's 2016 plans

Previously, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman informed that their titlist must face no other than the sanctioning body's interim champion and mandatory challenger Gennady Golovkin for an immediate bout, per a Boxing Scene report. However, the council ruled that the two warriors may go on for a separate voluntary defense first before meeting one another in the second half of 2016, noted another Boxing Scene report. With this, their battle will be more exciting for fans.

"Canelo" is expected to come back during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Golden Boy Promotions Vice President Eric Gomez shared that his fighter, "Canelo," will most likely return on May 7, Boxing Scene reported. However, they have not yet planned on other details of his return.

"We're looking at a couple of possibilities but we're going to sit down like we always do with 'Canelo' and his entire team and discuss opponents, venue and all that stuff after the holidays. Obviously there's a lot of options right now so it's just a matter of getting our heads together and coming to an agreement with what we're going to do," Gomez said.

Are they going to take Saunders' challenge?

With this challenge coming from Saunders, Alvarez will have his shot at adding the WBO crown from the vacant title he just earned after defeating the four-time world champion Cotto on Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

If Alvarez faces Saunders and wins, indeed, it will make the Alvarez-Golovkin fight more highly anticipated. "Triple G" currently hold the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization crowns. Thus, the winner of the match between "Canelo" and "Triple G" will don five belts as soon as the new king is announced.

Will "Canelo" be the next big thing in the middleweight division?

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