Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez Will Fight James Kirkland in May

Former light-middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has his next opponent, coming in the form of a bout against James Kirkland at some point in May.

Multiple outlets are reporting that Golden Boy Promotions Founder Oscar De La Hoya has announced that the fight has been signed and will air on HBO.

An exact date, as well as location have yet to be decided upon, although the general consensus is that the fight will either take place in Las Vegas or the 65,000 seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) is best known for his contest in 2013 against Floyd Mayweather Jr., a bout Alvarez lost handedly, but a controversial judging decision by C.J. Ross handed “Canelo” defeat by majority decision. Since then, the 24-year-old has rallied off two-straight victories, although his last win against Erislandy Lara was close, a split decision.

Kirkland (32-1, 28 KOs) has also only tasted defeat once in his career, a 2011 loss to Nobuhiro Ishida. Known for his punching power, “Mandingo Warrior” did not fight in 2014, and only competed once a year the three years before that.