Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and James Kirkland will collide at the Minute Maid Park in Houston on Saturday night and both camps are expecting a war in Texas.

Most fans are still expressing disappointment over the result of the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather last week, but Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya, whose company promotes Alvarez, promised that Saturday night's fight will live up to expectations.

Alvarez, who is looking to move one step closer to becoming a world champion again, is expecting a tough night against Kirkland, but has no plans to become too tentative to give the fans the kind of fight they are looking for -- an action-packed showdown.

"The fans want to go see action, and these are the kind of fights where the people will leave happy," Alvarez said through his translator via Denver Post.

Alvarez, who holds a 44-1-1 record with 31 knockouts, is a heavy favorite to win heading into the fight, but Kirkland declared that he is ready to prove his doubters wrong.

Kirkland, who has racked up 32 victories with 28 knockouts against just a lone defeat in his career, said he knows Alvarez will be a tough nut to crack on Saturday night. The Texas native said he will not promise anything, and he will just let his first do the talking on fight night.

"Canelo brings a lot to the game, got a great team backing him, and pretty much knows the sport," Kirkland said. "But there's a little something that goes deeper than that that I believe I possess. So at the end of the day I'm going to let the hands do the talking."

Predictions, Where To Watch & Live Stream

The fight is more meaningful for Alvarez as he is touted as the next big thing in boxing, especially when Mayweather decides to call it quits. Alvarez needs to win if he wants to reach that status and to get a shot against Miguel Cotto, who is the current World Boxing Council middleweight champion.

Most analysts are convinced Kirkland is a dangerous opponent, but Alvarez is expected to lean on his experience to stop his opponent on his tracks en route to a decision win.

The Alvarez-Kirkland match will be shown live on HBO and the World Championship Boxing telecast will start at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the action through online live stream via BoxNation.

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