Miguel Cotto vs Saul Canelo Alvarez - live boxing on TV this weekend

Cotto vs Alvarez, Saturday night 12am, BoxNation; Perez vs Crolla, Saturday night 8pm, Sky Sports 1; Abraham vs Murray, Saturday night 8pm, Sky Sports 1

(Getty Images)

Cotto vs Alvarez, Saturday night 12am, BoxNation

With all the domestic interest this evening it’s almost been easy to forget the biggest fight of the night, and one of the most keenly awaited in recent memory.

Both Miguel Cotto and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez are genuine boxing superstars, and tonight will confirm once and for all who is the Sonic Youth and who is the Jamelia of boxing.

There was intrigue and confusion added to the bout last week when Cotto gave up his WBC middleweight title due to high sanctioning fees, but considering both men weighed in at least five pounds lighter than the 160lb middleweight limit, that aspect has not tempered excitement ahead of the fight.

And what of this fight? Cotto is the more experienced fighter having amassed a 40-4 record since his debut in 2001, but the 25-year-old Cotto has a 45-1-1 resume with his lone defeat coming against Floyd Mayweather in September 2013.

Since losing to Mayweather the Mexican star has beaten Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara and James Kirkland, while Cotto most recently defeated a severely weight drained Daniel Geale and a one-legged Sergio Martinez.

Alvarez is the slightly taller man and is 10-years-younger than Cotto, but many boxing purists remember him wilting dramatically in the pressure cauldron against Mayweather, and he will once again be tested to the limit against the always aggressive Cotto.

Despite his outstanding reputation and early career victories over the likes of Zab Judah and Shane Mosley, Cotto is the betting underdog at 9/4 against the ⅓ Mexican favourite.

There is one more additional backstory to this captivating clash.

In May 2010, Miguel’s older brother Jose Cotto severely troubled a then 20-year-old Saul Alvarez in the opening round of their bout, and though Canelo rallied to win in the ninth round, if he gets into a similar situation against the younger Cotto he may not get out of the first frame.

Following the cancellation of the IBF bantamweight title match between Randy Caballero and Lee Haskins the undercard in Las Vegas looks emptier, but there is still a WBC super featherweight clash between Takashi Miura and Francisco Vargas, plus a return to action for Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Perez vs Crolla, Saturday night 8pm, Sky Sports 1

One of the busiest boxing nights of the year begins in Manchester where Anthony Crolla once again meets Darleys Perez for the WBA lightweight title.

The first bout finished as a draw in July where the Mancunian delivered an outstanding performance barely six months after suffering a fractured skull and shattered ankle, and Crolla is full of confidence heading into their rematch.

After starting slowly in July, Crolla hurt Perez in the middle rounds and many felt he should have won the fight after his Colombian opponent had two points deducted in the latter stages due to a series of low blows.


 Anthony Crolla
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Crolla has lost or drawn seven of his 36 professional bouts, yet has always shown a dogged determination to make the most out of his talents, while the 32-1-1 Perez has never beaten a truly top level opponent.

The Manchester crowd should carry their home favourite to produce another excellent performance, and he will look to become the third world champion in Joe Gallagher’s stable after Scott Quigg and Liam Smith.

Despite being the champion, Perez is the slight betting underdog at 6/5, with a Crolla win available at 8/11.

Those with eyes on a third match will be keen to exploit the 20/1 odds for a second successive draw between the two fighters.

Chris Jenkins and Tyrone Nurse also fought to a draw on the undercard of Crolla/Perez I, and they too will be seeking to define the true champion when they meet again in Manchester for the vacant British light welterweight title.

Jenkins struggled with the elusive movement and defensive skill of Nurse in their first match, but the Welshman displayed tremendous heart and determination to stay with his opponent.

Both men lack power, and as the bookmakers have identical odds for either man to win, the sensible bet could be to add the 4/9 odds for the fight to go the distance into an accumulator.

A second British title match will also feature on the bill, as 11-0 highly rated prospect Ryan Burnett takes on 38-year-old veteran Jason Booth for the vacant British bantamweight title.

Abraham vs Murray, Saturday night 8pm, Sky Sports 1

So far Martin Murray’s boxing career has followed a similar route to Newcastle United in the 1990s: So near, yet so far.

The 33-year-old lost all three of his world title attempts at middleweight, but though his last defeat to Gennady Golovkin was decisive, he arguably beat both Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez in their respective countries.

Unrewarded but undeterred, Murray moved up to super middleweight in July and after three bouts at the weight now has his fourth title opportunity against WBO champion Arthur Abraham.

Murray has traveled to Hannover with serious expectations of finally clinching his place among the best in the world, while Abraham has a history of outclassing game yet limited British opponents after twice beating Paul Smith over the past year.

This bout may not be the most spectacular of the evening as both fighters have similarly economical styles which rely on safety and defence above all else.

Abraham has only stopped one of his last eight opponents while Murray’s power in high level middleweight contests was sorely missing and is unlikely to be improved at the heavier weight.

Expect a technical bout which could develop into a fiercely tactical affair, and once again the odds reflect the closeness of the night, with Abraham a ⅘ favourite against evens for Murray.