Canelo Alvarez happy with first year back at HBO Sports

With his huge November 21 pay-per-view showdown against Miguel Cotto looming, Canelo Alvarez took some time to reflect on his first year back with HBO Sports. This is sort of weird, as Alvarez has had a total of one fight with HBO since returning from his stint at Showtime, which was THE PLACE! for Golden Boy before Richard Schaefer was removed and Oscar "discovered" that he didn't have more than a few fighters actually under contract, but regardless, here we are. One year! Happy anniversary!

"I am pleased to celebrate my first anniversary with HBO. HBO is my family, and I am glad to be home. Together, we will continue to make history. I look forward to celebrating many anniversaries together with all my family members at Golden Boy Promotions and HBO. I will continue producing the best possible fights for my fans and will blindly dedicate myself to my best performances every time," Canelo said.

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya added, "The fans absolutely love Canelo. They are loyal and are the most passionate fans of any fighter in the sport of boxing today. Canelo's exciting fighting style keeps them coming back, and he works hard to not let them down, both inside and outside of the ring. HBO is the best network for boxing, hands down, so I knew it would be the right home for Canelo and the best way for his fans to see him in action."

HBO Sports President Ken Hershman -- and this might surprise you -- is also very happy about Canelo Alvarez.

"He is one of the sport's brightest superstars and our platform is ideally suited to maximize all of his goals and dreams," Hershman said. "At only 25 years old he has so many incredibly exciting chapters ahead of him. We at HBO are looking forward to being an integral part of what will be a historic career."

Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KO) made his HBO return on May 9, beating James Kirkland in exciting fashion via third round knockout. The fight did big business at Houston's Minute Maid Park, the headline bout of the first fight card in the stadium's history, and showcased Alvarez as a true top star in the sport.

Most importantly, it set up the fight everyone wanted to get done, Canelo taking on Miguel Cotto. This is a fight that has been brewing for a few years now, only to hit speed bumps or stall in negotiations. Now we're getting it, at a point where both guys have looked very strong in recent fights, and the sport is dying for an actual action-packed major event.