By Miguel Rivera

Former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez says his countryman, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, has to beat Miguel Cotto in style if he wants to be considered one of the best fighters in the world.

Canelo will challenge the Puerto Rican star on November 21st at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The HBO Pay-Per-View fight will take place at a catch-weight of 155-pounds.

Marquez and Canelo have traded words in the past, because the Mexican veteran disputed the opinion that Canelo was a superstar and he also felt the young boxer's competition was very soft. 

"People often ask me what is missing from Canelo's career and my answer is simple: fighting the best, like Cotto. You have to stand against a great opponent to know if you are among the best in the world. Cotto is a good fighter, with experience and intelligence. He's the kind of opponent that if [Canelo] wins, and wins well, then he deserves to be in the position that people say he's in [as one of the best in the world]," Marquez said.

Marquez is not looking to much at Canelo's last win, which was a brutal knockout of James Kirkland. Marquez says Kirkland was very inactive coming into the fight and just came in there to throw punches and take punches without any regard of defense.

"It was an opponent who was inactive for more than one year. I don't think it's Canelo's fault, but he faced an opponent without any rhythm and without any desire. Kirkland went out there to fight in the first few rounds, but it was absurd to me because he was coming forward and taking punches in order to land them from a short distance," Marquez said.