By Jake Donovan

An enthusiastic crowd of over 300 fans was on hand as Rigoberto Alvarez and Austin Trout both made weight for their 12-round junior middleweight bout Saturday night at Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Both combatants came in at the division limit of 154 lb.

Alvarez (26-2, 19KO) enters the contest riding a three-fight win streak, including a 12-round split decision over Nobuhiro Ishida last October to net an alphabet title.

The win was among the biggest of the Mexican’s career and viewed as a first step towards emerging from the shadows of his younger but far more popular brother, undefeated welterweight contender Saul Alvarez. A win on Saturday night will lend further legitimacy to his career, as he continues to jockey for positioning in the 154 lb. division.

Trout (21-0, 13KO) enters the fight with a rich amateur history, but takes a huge leap in competition for this bout, just his fourth scheduled for 10 or more rounds.

The New Mexico native has been showcased on Telefutura earlier in his career, but hasn’t been seen by anyone in more than a year. Saturday’s return to the ring will end a 15-month forced hiatus, not fighting at all in 2010 while awaiting his overdue mandatory title shot.

Awaiting the winner of Saturday’s bout is a mandatory title defense against another former amateur standout, undefeated Cuban export Erislandy Lara. 

The 12-round bout airs live on Mexican network giant Televisa (Saturday, 11:30PM ET/10:30PM local time).

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to

JakeNDaBox@gmail.com

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