Billy Joe Saunders (l) and Andy Lee pose before their December fight. Photo courtesy of Frank Warren.

Billy Joe Saunders and Canelo Alvarez are in talks to potentially meet in December in a middleweight title fight on HBO, Golden Boy VP Eric Gomez told RingTV.com.

Saunders’ reps are in discussions with Golden Boy about making his 2016 debut on the undercard of Alvarez’s junior middleweight title fight with Liam Smith at AT&T Stadium on HBO PPV on Sept. 17. Part of the parameters of the talks include a possible deal for Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 knockouts) to challenge Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs) for his WBO middleweight title in December if both are successful next month, Gomez confirmed, describing that as one possible scenario.

Gomez said a fight with Saunders at 160 pounds, while being a significant match-up, would also elevate Canelo’s preparation for a possible fall of 2017 showdown with middleweight unified champion Gennady Golovkin.

Golden Boy and Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren have been discussing these possibilities for a few weeks now with the 26-year-old boxers and Gomez seemed encouraged by the direction of the talks in a phone interview on Wednesday night. Saunders last fought in December when he won a majority decision against Andy Lee for the WBO title in Manchester, England. Saunders pulled out of a scheduled April 30 fight with Max Bursak because of a hand injury. For his part, Alvarez blasted Amir Khan in the sixth round in May.