With a slower-than-usual January schedule fueled by COVID-related cancellations and other uncertainties, the boxing rumor mill is abuzz with talks of future mega-bouts for the hopefully not-so-distant post-pandemic future.

And as usual, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s next opponent is at the top of the list.

A number of comments on social media are pointing towards a May 5^th-ish super middleweight championship clash between the freckled Mexican idol and The Ring’s No. 2 middleweight and WBC titlist Jermall Charlo, most of them based on the lack of official information from both camps than in actual reports of serious talks between them.

A mention was made about Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza failing to mention ‘Mall during a rundown of his network’s most immediate plans, which seems to suggest that Charlo is being reserved as a potential foe for Alvarez.

ESPN’s breaking news wizard and former Ring senior writer Mike Coppinger has also been quoted extensively as a source after appearing on a talk show saying that he knows that the fight is being discussed at this very moment.

With Gennadiy Golovkin out of the picture after numerous failed negotiations, and with only a handful of viable opponents in the 168-175 pound territory (David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol being the names most often mentioned), Canelo’s team may be leaking this information in order to test the market’s reaction to a fight against a popular and promotion-friendly fighter like Charlo before heading towards riskier fights in higher weights with the sole purpose of continuing to accumulate belts on Alvarez’s already crowded trophy case.

In the most recent WBC convention, Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 knockouts), The Ring’s super middleweight champion and owner of all four major title belts, appeared next to the sanctioning body’s cruiserweight titlist Ilunga Makabu during a session in which an eventual title bout between the pair was ceremoniously approved by the representatives in attendance. Expecting Alvarez to jump directly to cruiserweight without at least one or two stops at lower weights, however, is unthinkable.

For Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) this would be his debut at 168 pounds and a risky one at that, making his super middleweight debut against a boxer-puncher with proven power. He has had only seven fights as a middleweight starting with his fourth-round stoppage of Sebastian Heiland back in 2017, after an entire career spent in the 154-pound region, with only a few bouts above that weight.