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Champion Cotto Set For Clash With Alvarez

Champion Cotto Set For Clash With Alvarez

Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto will face Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas on November 21 as he looks to defend his WBC middleweight title.

The highly-anticipated clash at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, involves two of boxing's most high-profile figures and has been finalised at the second attempt, representing a continuation of the popular Cotto's rivalry with Mexican opposition.

In one of the fights of 2008, the Puerto Rican lost to Alvarez's compatriot Antonio Margarito before avenging his defeat, and ending Margarito's career, in a grudge match in 2011.

Cotto, 34, said: "I will give the fans the fight they want to see. As I have always said, during my whole career, I am here to fight the best names and the best fighters.

"This will be another chapter in my career and I will be ready for him. Fans will enjoy a real fight, another classic battle in the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry."

Alvarez, who stopped James Kirkland in three rounds with a clinical performance in his last fight in May, added: "The fans have spoken out, longing for this fight and it is my pleasure to say that it is finally happening.

"Historically, mega-fights are made because fans demand them. All fights at this level are very important, but this fight in particular has something more. It will hold a special place in history as part of the big rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, and I promise all the fans that this is going to be an event that will not disappoint."

Confirmation of the fight also raises the prospect of the winner challenging the victor of Gennady Golovkin against David Lemieux, another of the world's most exciting match-ups, scheduled for October 17.

Both fights, within the boxing fraternity, are likely to generate significantly more interest than Floyd Mayweather's against Andre Berto on September 12.

The Puerto Rico-Mexico boxing rivalry goes beyond the career of Cotto. Mexican idol Julio Cesar Chavez fought Hector Camacho in 1992 and earned one of the finest victories of his career.