Ringside Seat: The complete guide to Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin

— -- LAS VEGAS -- Sports fans had to wait five years to finally see the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, and when it was finally made in 2015, it set all the box office records but turned out to be a terrible fight past its expiration date.

The next must-see fight demanded by the public was a showdown between superstar Canelo Alvarez, who along with unified heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua, is the face of boxing in the post-MayPac era, and unified middleweight world champion/knockout machine Gennady Golovkin.

Yes, it took time for the sides to make a deal and, sure, many would have liked to have seen it about 18 months ago, but all things considered the wait was not that long, relatively speaking. Golovkin's side was always ready, willing and able to make the fight, but Alvarez promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions wasn't ready to risk his cash cow before he felt he was ready and had grown into a true middleweight. But he kept his promise of a fall 2017 match, and here we are as they will throw down on Saturday (HBO PPV, 8 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo-GGG is on, and fight fans could not be more pumped for the best pure fight in years. Most believe it will be nothing short of a classic battle reminiscent of such all-time great action fights as Marvelous Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns and Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo I.

"There's going to be a lot of punishment on both sides," Alvarez said through a translator. "That's how I envision the fight and that's what we're prepared for."

"They're going to hit each other and give the fans the kind of fight they expect for their money," said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer.

This is your ESPN.com Ringside Seat for the fight:

Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) vs. Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs)