By Keith Idec

Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin is unquestionably big even among some of the most significant fights in middleweight championship history.

Oscar De La Hoya, a former middleweight champion whose company promotes Alvarez, went as far Tuesday as to call the Alvarez-Golovkin fight “the biggest probably” in middleweight history.

In modern boxing history, it ranks right up there, according to De La Hoya, with such legendary encounters as Hagler-Leonard, Hagler-Hearns, Hopkins-Trinidad and his own fight against Bernard Hopkins. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin has knocked out 89 percent of his opponents (37-0, 33 KOs) and will defend his IBF, IBO and WBA middleweight championships against Mexico’s Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs), a slight underdog entering their September 16 showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View).

“By far, this is the biggest probably in the history of the middleweight division,” De La Hoya said Tuesday during a conference call to promote the fight. “I mean, obviously we have to wait for the actual fight to see what unfolds and takes place. But in terms of magnitude, in terms of PR, in terms of attention that it’s receiving, in terms of people that will be watching, yes, this has to be the biggest.

“And obviously, we will have to wait until September 16th to see if it will be the best, which I think it will be, in the history of the middleweight division. But it has all the ingredients to unfold, to be one of the best fights in the last 30 years. So, you know, obviously the indications tell us that this will be a huge blockbuster.”

Earlier during the call, Alvarez said he hopes his heavily hyped fight against Golovkin meets expectations.

“Without a doubt, this can go down as one of the best fights in history,” Alvarez said through a translator. “On paper, obviously, it’s gonna rival some of those big fights that [were] mentioned. It really depends on how the fight pans out. I’m gonna do my part to make it memorable, so it can go down in history as one of the best fights. I know that for sure. I’m gonna do my part. But it can easily be considered one of the best fights in history.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.