Canelo Alvarez returning to HBO to face Joshua Clottey in December

According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Canelo Alvarez will return to the ring in December to face Joshua Clottey on HBO, meaning that Showtime's biggest non-Mayweather star is headed back to the network that originally brought him to the masses in the United States.

Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KO) has two wins this year, decimating Alfredo Angulo in March and then squeaking past Erislandy Lara via split decision in July. The 24-year-old Mexican superstar doesn't have a world title to defend against Clottey (38-4, 22 KO), but he's an A-side with or without one, and one of the sport's biggest draws.

The fight looks like it will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, where Alvarez sold about 40,000 tickets for a 2013 win over Austin Trout.

Clottey, 36, moved up to junior middleweight after his terrible loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2010, but it took a while, and it's been over four years since he's been in a major fight on American soil. After losing to Pacquiao, he was on the sidelines for 20 months before returning to beat club fighter Calvin Green in November 2011, followed by another lengthy absence leading to a win over Dashon Johnson in March 2013.

Clottey last fought on April 9 in Australia, pummeling Anthony Mundine. He hoped that win would get him back in the race for bigger fights, and it certainly has, as Canelo's about as big a fight as Clottey is going to get.

Alvarez last fought on an HBO show in May 2012, beating Shane Mosley decisively on the Mayweather-Cotto pay-per-view undercard. His last fight on regular HBO came in November 2011, when he routed Kermit Cintron.