The highly anticipated showdown between Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will finally happen, as the two boxing superstars agreed to face each other on Nov. 21 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Boxing fans have been calling for the Cotto-Canelo showdown for more than a year. Now that the fight is finalized, Cotto vowed to train hard and give boxing fans a taste of the longstanding boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico in their November showdown.

Cotto, who is the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion, said that he made sure the fight will happen because he wants to face the best possible opponent. He is confident that his upcoming fight against Canelo will be lined up with great bouts involving Puerto Rican and Mexican boxers like the Felix Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya rivalry.

"As I have always said during my whole career, I am here to fight the best names and the best fighters," Cotto said in a statement via BoxingScene. "This will be another chapter in my career and I will be ready for him. Fans will enjoy a real fight, another classic battle in the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry."

Cotto and Alvarez could have faced each other in May, but negotiations for the fight did not come to fruition. Alvarez eventually decided to face James Kirkland on May 9, while Cotto defended his title against Daniel Geale on June 6.

Alvarez scored a third-round knockout win against Kirkland to improve his record to 45-1-1 with 32 knockouts, with the lone loss coming from Floyd Mayweather Jr.

On the other hand, Cotto kept his title after stopping Geale in the fourth round of their title showdown.

The results of their recent fights led to a clamor from boxing afficionados who are aching to see Cotto and Canelo collide for the WBC middleweight title. Alvarez said that he is happy fans will finally get the fight that they have been asking for, and he vowed that their supporters will not be disappointed.

"All fights at this level are very important, but this fight in particular has something more," Alvarez said. "It will hold a special place in history as part of the big rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, and I promise all the fans that this is going to be an event that will not disappoint."

The winner of the Cotto-Canelo showdown will likely defend the WBC middleweight title against undefeated champion Gennady Golovkin if the 33-year-old Kazakh wins against David Lemieux on Oct. 17 in New York.

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