There's one huge reason the Mexican rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is determined to win against World Boxing Council middleweight champion Miguel Cotto on Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Aside from getting back to a champion status by capturing the Puerto Rican warrior's WBC crown, "Canelo" (45-1-1, 32 KOs) believes defeating Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) will make him a legend with a prestigious Hall of Fame honor in the future, Boxing Scene reported. Thus, making the Cotto-Canelo bout this fall official made the young fighter extremely glad.

"So we made the fight and now I am very happy because, as I said, because it's an honor for me to fight with Miguel Angel Cotto, who has won everything, and he's going to be a legend in boxing. To become a legend, you have to beat a fighter like Miguel Angel Cotto. I am honored to fight someone like him," the 25-year old "Canelo" told El Nuevo Dia, as quoted by Boxing Scene.

The Mexican boxer probably had the same train of thought two years ago when he tried his luck against the current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Although he was defeated by "The Money," he still boasts a record of only one loss, per BoxRec.

Having shared the ring with the undefeated Mayweather was already an honor he could pride himself with. After all, there's a chance no more fighters may share this experience further after the highest-paid athlete announced his farewell fight with Andre Berto on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand, according to another report from Boxing Scene.

Yet, "Canelo," who is coming off a third-round knockout win against James Kirkland at the Minute Maid Park in Texas in May, as reported by The Guardian, knows he still needs to prove more to earn the respect of other fans.

If he beats Cotto, Daily News noted that he would be famed for having defeated the first Puerto Rican-native, who won four different division titles. It would be another defining moment in the Puerto Rico-Mexico boxing rivalry, and his path to being a distinguished Hall of Famer.

Golden Boy Promotions head Oscar De La Hoya also thinks that this fight against Cotto will propel his fighter to stardom, according to Boxing News 24.

"This fight's more important [than Canelo vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.] because Canelo knows he's not at his peak yet, but he's reaching it. By winning this fight in impressive fashion, he can catapult his career to new heights...He [Canelo] will be the man for the next 10 years. So yeah, this is very, very important," the Hall of Fame boxer turned promoter said.

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