LAS VEGAS — RING No. 5-rated middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is thinking big.

The 25-year-old son of the former champion with the same name told RING TV.com on Thursday night that he would first like to thrill his followers, with what would surely be an insanely popular event, in a fight opposite RING No. 2-rated junior middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

If that doesn’t happen, then Chavez Jr. (43-0-1, 30 KOs) would like to take on the winner of a rematch between Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs) and Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs), who will meet on Dec. 3.

All these plans, of course, will wait until after Chavez Jr. puts his WBC middleweight title on the line against Peter Manfredo Jr. (37-6, 20 KOs) on Nov. 19, and the 21-year-old Alvarez (38-0-1, 28 KOs) risks his WBC junior middleweight belt opposite Kermit Cintron (33-4-1, 28 KOs) on Nov. 26.

But Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum, who handles Chavez Jr., Cotto and Margarito, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who has Alvarez, have already indicated to RingTV.com that when the smoke clears they will move ahead in an attempt to match Chavez Jr. and Alvarez.

Chavez spoke to RingTV.com at the MGM Grand, where he is in town for Saturday night’s HBO Pay Per View clash between THE RING’s No. 1-rated pound-for-pound Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) and the RING’s No. 5-rated pound-for-pound Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs).

“I think that I would like to fight Alvarez first, for the Mexican people,” said Chavez Jr. “If not, then Cotto or Margarito. That would be big.”

Chavez Jr. said that he would prefer to do the fights at his weight class with his belt on the line, but that he would be willing to take them at a catchweight if necessary.

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]