Saul "Canelo" Alvarez needs to face Miguel Cotto in order to make boxing fans forget about his 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., World Boxing Council (WBC) president Mauricio Sulaiman said.

Sulaiman told BoxingScene that Alvarez is indeed one of the biggest boxing stars today, but he pointed out that the Mexican has yet to regain his old reputation after losing to Mayweather in their record-setting showdown in September 2013.

Alvarez, who holds an impressive 44-1-1 record with 31 knockouts, scored wins against Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo last year, but Sulaiman said the 24-year-old should take a risk by facing big-name fighters like Cotto.

"Canelo needs that fight," Sulaiman said of the proposed Cotto-Alvarez bout. "After losing to Mayweather, he could not return to the level he wanted or deserved to be at after two fights. He needs to take a risk like Cotto for the public to recognize him as one of the greats."

Alvarez is reportedly eyeing a showdown against Cotto, the reigning WBC middleweight champion, on Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 2, but while most analysts believe that the fight will eventually happen, the two sides have yet to reach common ground and finalize the fight.

Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya had numerous discussions with Top Rank Promotions president Todd DuBoef and Gaby Peñagarícano, Cotto's adviser, about the fight. De La Hoya said the fight is done as far as their side is concerned, but he is also unsure why Cotto's camp has yet to agree to a fight deal.

"Look, with Canelo-Cotto our side is done," De La Hoya said via Tha Boxing Voice. "We want the fight, Canelo wants the fight. So you know, it's now up to Cotto. It's now up to Todd DuBoef and Gaby, his lawyer, and hopefully we can make that fight happen."

De La Hoya is confident that the Cotto-Canelo showdown will be a huge hit if staged this year. He said it is the second best possible matchup in boxing -- next to the rumored bout between Mayweather and his biggest rival, Manny Pacquiao, which could also happen in May.

"This fight here, if it gets made, is second to Pacquiao and Mayweather and is the best fight the fans can watch," De La Hoya said. "It can attract the casual fan and it can attract women also. You know with Canelo-Cotto, Puerto Rico-Mexico, it has the ingredients to be a huge, huge fight."

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