Miguel Cotto 153.5 pounds, Canelo Alvarez 155 ahead of Saturday's title fight

LAS VEGAS - We have a fight.

Before a rowdy overflow crowd at a Mandalay Bay ballroom Friday, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez made weight ahead of their lineal middleweight championship fight Saturday on HBO PPV. Cotto, the champion, tipped the scales at a ripped and ready 153.5 pounds, while Canelo looked strong at 155. The fight is being contested at a contracted catchweight of 155 pounds.

The 7,000-plus fans in attendance were heavily in favor of the red-headed Mexican and chanted loudly throughout the proceedings.

Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) was stripped of the WBC title earlier this week after refusing to pay a $300,000 sanctioning fee to defend the belt. However, he loses the $800,000 step-aside fee he already paid Gennady Golovkin to allow the fight to go through. If Cotto wins, the title will become vacant, though GGG is the interim champion and would likely be elevated to fill the slot. If Canelo (45-1-1, 32 KOs) wins, he'll become the champ.

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Randy Caballero, who was set to defend the IBF bantamweight title against Lee Haskins on the "freeview," weighed in at 123.5 pounds for the 118-pound fight and was stripped of the title. The fight is off, Golden Boy Promotions executive Eric Gomez told Paste BN Sports. Golden Boy is negotiating with Haskins to pay the Brit part of his purse. He will be elevated to champion to fill the vacancy.

Takashi Miura, who will defend his WBC junior lightweight title against Francisco Vargas in the co-feature, weighed 130, while Vargas was 129.5.

Guillermo Rigondeaux, BoxingJunkie's No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, weighed 121.5 pounds. His opponent, Drian Francisco, tipped the scales at 121. Rigondeaux is the lineal junior featherweight champion.

Ronny Rios weighed 125, while Jayson Velez was 125.5 for their fight which will open the pay-per-view telecast.