Erik Morales has a lot of respect for World Boxing Council middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, but the former four-division titlist believes the Puerto Rican champ will not be any greater by defeating a “very difficult opponent” in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez when they face on Nov. 21 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

Morales feels Cotto has made a mistake in fighting Canelo, adding that fellow Mexican challenger has the advantage because of his youth.

“At least on paper, Cotto made a mistake because generally speaking he’s not going to become greater [by beating Canelo], maybe it’s for the money, but it is a very complicated fight,” Morales said, reports Boxing Scene. “I think that Canelo has the advantage for the type of bout because he has youth and because he can apply a lot of pressure on Cotto, who is the type of fighter who doesn’t like pressure.”

But according to Canelo, who is expecting a “classic fight” against Cotto, the advantage that he has is training hard, adding that he believes in the preparation his team has put up in their training camp, reports World Boxing News.

Meanwhile, Hall of Famer trainer Freddie Roach has revealed Cotto’s game plan for Canelo come fight night. Roach said Cotto will give the younger Canelo a “boxing lesson” for about five rounds, then turn it up from that point.

“After five, I am going to have Miguel go out there and trade with him a little bit and when Canelo slows down a little bit, I think we will knock him out in about eight or nine rounds,” Roach told Boxing News Online.

Cotto and Canelo will fight at a catchweight of 155-pounds, with the winner forcedly defending the title against WBO, IBF, IBO middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin. But with Cotto and Canelo leaning away from a fight with the undefeated Kazakh at a full 160 pounds, it is unlikely that fight fans would see Golovkin taking on either of the two in the near future.

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