By Jake Donovan

It stands to reason that Andy Lee and Billy Joe Saunders won’t agree on very much over the next month, including who will win their December 19 middleweight title fight in Manchester, England.

Naturally, the two disagree on another fight that has major implications in their weight class. Like everyone else, they have an opinion on how things will play out between Miguel Cotto and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez this weekend in Las Vegas.

Cotto (40-4, 33KOs) makes the second defense of the World (lineal) middleweight championship he claimed in a 10th round stoppage of Sergio Martinez last June. He will no longer carry an alphabet belt into the ring, as the WBC stripped him of such status on Tuesday. 

The belt – as well as the lineal championship – remains on the line for Alvarez (45-1-1, 32KOs), a former super welterweight titlist who makes his first middleweight title challenge. The bout will take place at a maximum catchweight of 155 lbs., where Alvarez will spend his fourth consecutive fight.

As fight night nears, Alvarez remains the betting favorite despite coming in as the challenger. Saunders – who challenges for his first middleweight title when he faces Lee next month – is conflicted on his thoughts, as he attempts to separates whom he likes to win from whom he’d like to next face.

“I believe that Alvarez will be too fresh for Cotto,” believes Saunders (22-0, 12KOs). “He’s got too much on his side like youth, strength and speed and I think Cotto may be just on the slide now. I think Alvarez will win by late stoppage, but it’s going to be a cracking fight.  

“There’s a side of me that would like to see Cotto win because he was my favorite fighter as a kid and I would have like to have fought a great like him. Maybe I still could down the line, but first things first with me and I want to win that WBO World title from Lee.”

Saunders was last seen bumping off Yoann Bloyer in the 4th round of a stay busy fight this past July. The win represents his lone piece of ring action in 2015, with injuries and postponements stalling the momentum gained from his narrow points win over Chris Eubank Jr. last November. 

The defending titlist is in a similar boat. Lee (34-2-1, 22KOs) hasn’t fought since a 12-round draw with Peter Quillin in April. The bout came four months after his come-from-behind knockout win over Matt Korobov in their vacant title fight last December. 

His showdown with Saunders will mark his third straight unbeaten opponent and – dating back to his come-from-behind win over John Jackson last June (on the undercard of Cotto-Martinez) – his fourth consecutive fight where he is viewed as either even money or a betting underdog. 

Cotto played a similar role in his win over Martinez and remains so heading into Saturday’s showdown with Alvarez. Lee can certainly sympathize with a champion facing a perceived uphill battle, as reflected in his view of how Saturday’s superfight will unfold.

“I'm going against the grain and picking Cotto,” notes Lee. “He's boxing very cleverly at the moment and I see him using all his experience to box around Canelo. At his best, Miguel has excellent rhythm and I believe he can use that to frustrate Alvarez who I expect will come looking to take him out with one spectacular punch. (I like) Cotto on points.”  

Lee vs. Saunders will air live on BoxNation in the United Kingdom; the network will also carry this weekend’s show in Las Vegas for boxing fans in jolly old England.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox