“That’s going to be a tough fight for Canelo, man,” said McIntyre to Seconds Out. “So I just hope he wins, or whoever wins, we just get next.”

Mbilli was elevated from interim champion to full WBC titleholder after Terence Crawford retired following his win over Canelo last year. Canelo is now attempting to reclaim a portion of the super middleweight title picture when he faces Mbilli in Riyadh on September 12.

Martinez remains unbeaten and has steadily moved closer to a major title opportunity over the last two years. The Guatemalan contender has already shown he can compete with Mbilli, and his team clearly believes the unresolved result from their first fight gives them a legitimate argument to stay attached to the title picture heading into the fall.

McIntyre’s comments came during fight week in Egypt for Saturday’s Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven card at the Pyramids of Giza. While he stopped short of directly calling for the fight, the message was clear. Martinez wants another shot at Mbilli, and a Canelo victory could create an even bigger opening financially at 168 pounds.