Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez: Official Fight Purses Announced

Saturday's clash between Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is perhaps the biggest fight in boxing since Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s retirement, and due largely to that notion, both combatants will be compensated quite handsomely.  

According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (via ESPN.com's Dan Rafael), Cotto will make a purse of $15 million, while Alvarez is set to bring home $5 million. In addition to that, Canelo figures to earn even more based on revenue from Mexican television.

Although it can be argued the 25-year-old Alvarez is a bigger international star than the 35-year-old Cotto, the latter is the champion, and he will defend both the Lineal and The Ring Middleweight Championships.

The World Boxing Council Middleweight title will be on the line as well, but Cotto will be forced to vacate it if he wins. Per Rafael, the WBC released a statement regarding the decision, and while it didn't provide a specific reason, reports suggest that the Puerto Rican star refused to pay a $300,000 sanctioning fee:

"

After several weeks of communications, countless attempts and good faith time extensions trying to preserve the fight as a WBC world championship, Miguel Cotto and his promotion (Roc Nation Sports) did not agree to comply with the WBC rules and regulations, while Saul Alvarez has agreed to do so. Accordingly, the WBC must rule on the matter prior to the fight. The WBC hereby announces that effective immediately it has withdrawn recognition of Miguel Cotto as WBC world middleweight champion.

"

It can be argued the WBC situation takes some shine away from the massive fight, but it certainly didn't seem to impact Cotto's payday.

The 40-4 Cotto has lost bouts to Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in the past, and taking on Canelo promises to be one of the biggest challenges of his career.

Alvarez is an impressive 45-1-1 with his only loss coming at the hands of Mayweather. His star faded a bit after that loss, as evidenced by where his purse stands in comparison to Cotto's, but the Mexican fan favorite will have a golden opportunity to reach the top of the sport once again Saturday.

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