Canelo Alvarez's bright future could include Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin

(Troy Taormina, Paste BN Sports)

HOUSTON - The Golden Boy had a tough time wiping the smile off his face.

And why not? Oscar De La Hoya had just witnessed a boxing promoter's dream.

His company's Golden Boy, 24-year-old Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, had just made short work out of a rough-and-tumble ex-con Texan who most believed could give him the most dangerous fight of his career.

In a little more than eight minutes Saturday night inside the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park, Alvarez, the popular Mexican, knocked one clear out of the park, dropping bruising James Kirkland three times in two rounds and change. The third time was a charm for Alvarez. Kirkland did not get up and Alvarez added the knockout of the year so far to his résumé, which now stands at 45-1-1 with 32 KOs.

The 31,588 mostly Alvarez fans that packed the park didn't mind that their evening was cut short.

By the time the post-fight news conference got underway, the KO was mostly history. Most of the media that crowded into the small room beneath the ballpark were looking ahead to a future that suddenly looked as bright as Alvarez's distinctive red hair.

"He was a star before. Now he's a shooting star," De La Hoya said - with a smile, of course. "He showed us that he's growing into his man-strength. He's only 24 years old!"

CANELO'S KO: Alvarez punishes Kirkland with brutal knckout

When Alvarez fought Floyd Mayweather in September 2013, it was clear from the start he was not ready for the world's pound-for-pound king. Accordingly, he was soundly beaten for his only career loss.

He was even asked about the possibility of fighting Mayweather again, and he said, "Sure why not? But I'll tell you this much, the conditions would be very different."

Certainly no catch weights against Mayweather - ever again, he said.

There are no such doubts after beating up Kirkland.

Alvarez, who also pledged to fight at least once a year in Texas - "I like the vibe here," he said - is now ready to fight anyone.

"Anyone" is expected to come in the form of middleweight champions Miguel Cotto and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, who fights on HBO Saturday against Willie Monroe Jr. in Los Angeles.

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Alvarez says he will likely fight again in September or October. Most believe his opponent will be Cotto, provided he defeats Daniel Geale on June 6 in Brooklyn. Cotto's Roc Nation Promotions representative David Itskowitch attended the fight and the news conference. Details are being worked out to get Alvarez the title shot he desires.

"We haven't discussed any dates and what the plans are," De La Hoya said. "(Canelo) is going to rest a couple days, and knowing him, he's going to want a quick meeting to discuss his future. He's definitely going to fight again this year, whether it's two or three times this year, I don't know. He understands that to become a superstar, he has to fight often. He loves training, he loves being in the gym. It's a pleasure promoting him."

And if Cotto doesn't work out - or even if he does - can Golovkin, the sport's most avoided fighter, be far behind?

"Yeah, in the future, why not? I'm open to fight anybody," Alvarez said. "But obviously he's in a different (weight) division right now and I wouldn't want to give anyone advantages, but when I move up in the future, sure, why not?"

De La Hoya, who said Saturday's exciting eight minutes of non-stop action made up tenfold for last weekend's underwhelming and disappointing mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather, can't hide his excitement thinking about what might come. But neither is he ready to dive into the deep end of the pool.

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"(Golovkin is) a solid middleweight, and Canelo can easily make 154 pounds," De La Hoya said. "We have to keep in mind that Canelo had been out of the ring before this fight for about nine months.

"But eventually he is going to grow into a middleweight and he is going to fight Triple G when the time is right. And I can guarantee you one thing. People were talking about the superfight last weekend. You talk about a superfight. A year and a half, two years down the road, Triple G-Canelo would surpass any type of numbers or hype of last week's fight and it would guarantee action.

"The fans want to see fights, they want to see action. And the world knows that Triple G-Canelo down the road would be the next super fight."

And he said it with a smile.