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Canelo Alvarez is facing perhaps his toughest challenger in recent memory, but it feels like people are already looking ahead to his next fight. The WBO super welterweight champion faces off with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday in Las Vegas at a catchweight of 164.5 pounds.

As we get closer to Saturday, here's what you need to know about both Alvarez and Chavez Jr. before they slug it out.

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1. Alvarez a sizable favorite. It's a bit of a surprise, but Alvarez comes into his bout with Chavez Jr. as a -650 favorite at most oddsmakers. Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 knockouts) is undefeated in six fights since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, with four of those coming via KO/TKO. Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 1 no contest, 32 KOs) is 4-1 since 2013 with all of those wins coming via decision. Chavez might not have the knockout power, but he will look to push forward and throw Alvarez off his game as much as he can.

2. Chavez Jr. is not the same fighter as his father: While many fans will be hoping to see Chavez Jr. either pay homage to his dad or fight in a similar style, fans must remember he is not the same guy. People have wanted him to display the same toughness, anger and aggression in the ring as his dad did, but he has seemed disinterested in past fights. If he is as focused as he claims to be ahead of the toughest fight of his career, Chavez Jr. has the potential to surprise folks Saturday and score a huge upset.

3. More than a tuneup fight for Alvarez: Gennady Golovkin learned this the hard way in March when he accepted the challenge of fighting Daniel Jacobs. While Golovkin and Alvarez have both said they intend to fight each other later this year, both are taking on tough tests as "tuneups" for that. Golovkin saw his streak of knockouts end when he couldn't quite get around Jacobs' chin, scoring a unanimous decision victory. If Alvarez is not careful in shutting down Chavez Jr. early, he could get tested late in this fight.

4. One fight before moving to 160: Alvarez has maintained throughout the leadup to this fight that he will be moving to 160 pounds for good after this bout. It's a weird situation for the Golden Boy camp because he currently has a 154-pound belt, which will presumably be vacated if he actually does move to 160, and is fighting at 164.5 for this bout. I'm still not sure how this makes sense for him and his team, but the plan seems to be 154, 164.5, 160 for his three fights in consideration.

5. Canelo still the shining star of boxing? More than anything, this fight is going to help show fans how much star power Alvarez still has. He's an incredibly dangerous fighter whose style is more aesthetically pleasing than most, but following the Mayweather program of taking on top talent past their prime or relative unknowns will eventually catch up with you on a national fan base level. Alvarez can still be the man of boxing by winning and dominating, but with the reignited interest at heavyweight and the young Olympic champions starting to make a name for themselves, Alvarez needs to step up and take on top guys.

6. No guarantee of Canelo-GGG with a win: We've been told it's going to happen a handful of a times just to have negotiations veer off course or a different opponent show up for one. Oscar De La Hoya has already said the first phone call he plans to make Sunday will be to Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's promoter, to get the fight finalized, but we've been down this road before. While GGG-Alvarez has become the Mayweather-Pacquiao of this day and age, I have a hard time believing anything I hear from either side until they have signed on the dotted line.