Sergey Kovalev defends his WBO light-heavyweight crown against pound-for-pound superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez this weekend.

Kovalev is enjoying his third stint as a world champion in the 175lbs category, having been a dominant force in the division for a large chunk of the past decade.

By contrast, Alvarez is stepping into unknown territory as he moves up from middleweight in an attempt to become a four-weight world champion.

Whoever emerges victorious in Las Vegas on Saturday will be able to point to a win that significantly enhances their reputation and legacy.

Here, we look a three factors that could lead each man to glory.

SAUL ALVAREZ - KEYS TO VICTORY

Body shots

Canelo's economical counter-punching style means he is hardly the archetypal Mexican boxer, but his potent body attacks bear comparison to the finest his country has produced. Kovalev was hurt to the body in his losses to Andre Ward and against Anthony Yarde last time out. Canelo's technical proficiency to take advantage of this chink in the armour is likely to have caused plenty of consternation for Team Kovalev.

Cut off the ring

Earlier in his career, most glaringly in his sole loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2013, Alvarez's footwork appeared a plodding weakness against the very best. Over the intervening six years, however, Canelo's feet are his most improved asset. He frequently out-manoeuvred Gennady Golovkin during 24 titanic rounds and he must be sharp in this department to offset Kovalev's physical advantages and set up those body assaults.

Stay busy

Canelo boasts plenty of impressive wins over the championship distance, but a glance at the scorecards from wins over Golovkin, Erislandy Lara and Daniel Jacobs show plenty of scorecards returned in the region of 116-112 and 115-113. Alvarez typically takes portions of rounds off and selectively decides when to catch the judges' eyes. These are priceless traits to have mastered at world level but the threat of Kovalev's punch power means taking the odd round - or even minute - off might be fraught with danger on this occasion.

SERGEY KOVALEV -  KEYS TO VICTORY

The jab

Unusually for a man who sprung to prominence as a bludgeoning knockout artist, Kovalev's best punch remains a left lead thrown with intelligent authority and, of course, no little power. The shot saw him through the other side of choppy waters against Yarde and ultimately finished off his exhausted foe. Golovkin's jab caused Alvarez plenty of problems and that should be a huge source of encouragement to Kovalev.

Power and size

Youth, speed, punch variety, defence, age, recent form – Canelo certainly has plenty of factors in his favour for this blockbuster. It means Kovalev must make his natural attributes count early and often, persuading the Mexican from slipping into his desired rhythm of pot shots and counter-punching. Alvarez's chin stood up to Golovkin's best punches superbly; Kovalev must convince him being caught flush by a career light-heavyweight is an even more sickening proposition

Listen to Buddy

Following back-to-back losses to Ward and a shock stoppage defeat against Eleider Alvarez, Kovalev's time among the elite looked to be over. Joining up with esteemed trainer Buddy McGirt has proved an inspired move. In an immediate rematch, Kovalev parked the macho schtick in favour of refined boxing to regain his WBO belt via a wide points decision. There could be a temptation to try and bulldoze the smaller Canelo early but McGirt's tactical tweaking of the Kovalev style means this is unlikely to be part of the plan.