Former champion and Mexican favorite Saul "Canelo" Alvarez could capture the World Boxing Council middle weight title from Miguel Cotto, says veteran boxer, Bernard Hopkins.

Hopkins, who is connected to Oscar De la Hoya's company, Golden Boy Promotions, wants "Canelo" to win even if the match will test the fighter's limits.

"I believe he will win but it will be a hard fight. It will test 'Canelo', whether he's that legitimate next star in boxing. This will be the fight I think that he'll get a chance to show that he's just not a come forward guy," Hopkins told Boxing Scene.

Alvarez, who only tasted defeat in his professional career against undefeated boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., can actually learn from that loss to triumph against the seasoned Puerto Rican fighter, Hopkins said. Canelo should also be cautious of being hurt by Cotto's powerful left hook.

"I think Cotto's is a guy who's comfortable when you're trading with him, when you're there, when you're trying to block, you're trying to roll - but no one rolls like (Floyd) Mayweather - and that's where Cotto has his shots. He gets into trading shots with anybody and especially if 'Canelo' tries to do that early," Hopkins added.

The challenger's predictions

Even the WBC middleweight interim champion and mandatory challenger Gennady "GGG" Golovkin thinks that Canelo will emerge as the victor in the Cotto-Canelo fight this fall. The unbeaten Kazakh knockout boxer shared his opinion to Max Kellerman on Sports Nation. Golovkin believes that the two will have a close fight but eventually, the younger boxer will win.

"It's 50-50, but I think so Canelo [will win]," Golovkin said, as quoted by Boxing Scene.

"Triple G" even admited that Canelo would pose a greater threat to him, that is, if the Mexican fighter faces him next. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has earlier declared that whoever wins in the fight between Alvarez and Cotto will have a showdown with "GGG."

"Maybe Canelo [will be the toughest challenger for me]. He's young, new style, new situation," Golovkin told the boxing analyst.

Announcement coming soon

The Cotto-Canelo fight details still need to be ironed out. Several reports have claimed that it will be staged at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, on Nov. 21. However, De La Hoya has not yet confirmed the venue but he acknowledged that the big fight, the one that will feature the "rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico" again, will happen "very soon."

"The Mandalay Bay is an exciting arena...That's where I had the fight against Trinidad, where I fought Vargas. It is a historic and very nice boxing arena," De La Hoya said, as quoted by Boxing Scene.