By Miguel Rivera

Former four division world champion Erik Morales says the time is right for his countryman, Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), to challenge WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) of Puerto Rico.

The fight is scheduled to take place on November 21st from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

This is the second time where Canelo is the headliner in a major pay-per-view event. He's topped a few smaller pay-per-views, but in September 2013 he stepped in the ring with the pound-for-pound king of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Canelo was dominated by the undefeated boxer.

Some felt Canelo took the Mayweather fight too soon, that he wasn't ready. Since that time, he's won three fights in a row over Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara and James Kirkland.

Canelo looked to be on the slide when he suffered back to back defeats to Mayweather and Austin Trout in 2012. His career recovered after hiring trainer Freddie Roach. He's been matched carefully with strict catch-weights in place. Many experts still feel very strongly that Cotto is past his prime and Canelo's youth will expose that in the fall.

"It's a very complicated fight. I understand that this is the fight that [Canelo] wanted. I also think it is a very winnable fight, but now we have to see it to know if he can really pass the test. If he loses, he would simply have to work harder," Morales said.

 

"Breaking down the career of Canelo is a difficult issue. It's a path that has been handled by Golden Boy. They have given him the opportunities that a boxer looks for and deserves to try to find his career. Some of them he's taken and exceled, and others, like the fight with Floyd Mayweather, he failed. But I think he's at a moment where he should take advantage [of this opportunity]."