Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET HBO Boxing will present the biggest fight since Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Manny Pacquiao. Lineal welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KO) will face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KO) in a battle that may determine who is boxing's No. 1 draw. Fans can live stream the card online by clicking this link.
Cotto vs. Alvarez will extend a long tradition of Puerto Rican vs. Mexican boxing, and is the highest profile clash between these two sides since Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez's promoter, fought Felix "Tito" Trinidad in 1999.
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Alvarez is the betting favorite, and has the advantage of being 10 years younger than the 35-year-old Cotto. The two share five common opponents, Mayweather, Austin Trout, Shane Mosley, Alfonso Gomez, and Lovemore N'dou. Cotto is 3-2 vs. those opponents, with losses to Mayweather and Trout, while Alvarez has only lost to Mayweather.
Both fighters will enter the ring on three-fight winning streaks, although both have asterisks. Cotto has knocked out his last three opponents, but he has drawn criticism for his last two wins at middleweight because he weight-drained his opponents.
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Alvarez has two knockouts in his last three bouts, but many believe he was gifted a split decision over Erislandy Lara in July 2014.
An interesting storyline has developed in the week leading to this matchup. Prior to Tuesday, Cotto held the WBC title, but was stripped after refusing to pay a $300,000 fee to the WBC on top of $800,000 worth of "step-aside" money to No. 1 contender Gennady Golovkin.
The title is now vacant; Alvarez will claim it if he defeats Cotto, but Golovkin, the interim champion, will be promoted to full status if Cotto earns the win. Regardless of who wins, one of the first questions to the winner will be about Golovkin. After the WBC title fiasco, if Cotto wins it looks like Golovkin will be out of luck.
Prediction: Cotto def. Alvarez by split decision
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