Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will 'smash' Dmitry Bivol like 'mashed potatoes' when the two fight on May 7.

That is according to boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, who claims he can't see anything other than a victory for the Mexican.

Pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez faces the WBA light heavyweight champion on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and heads into DAZN's first pay-per-view event as the betting favourite.

Alvarez, 31, comes into the fight having stopped Avni Yildirim and Billy Joe Saunders before knocking out Caleb Plant last November.

Hopkins - nicknamed B-Hop - used to co-promote Canelo together with his business partner Oscar De La Hoya.

And he predicts his former charge Alvarez will have too much for the 31-year-old Russian Bivol.

Speaking to FightHype.com, Hopkins, 57, said: "He smashes him. Mashed potatoes all over the place. Another smash event, smashes him.

"I mean, people are really excited - yeah, to see Canelo, whether he can stay mentally and physically on top as he has been.

Canelo Alvarez will take on Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night

"That’s all we really looking for, people that know."

It's worth pointing out Canelo is two-and-a-half inches shorter than his upcoming opponent, and he also has a smaller reach (70 in) than Bivol.

Asked if that could be a problem for him, Hopkins replied: “If Canelo didn’t have the attributes, the talent that he has, yes.

"But that’s not the case, we’re talking fantasy if we’re talking about that, it's a fantasy.

"Things are so basically one-sided from a person like myself and others out there that would agree.

"It’s about what Canelo wants to do, not what Bivol is going to do.”

This comes after another boxing great in Sergio Mora suggested Bivol will have to come up with something 'special' to beat Alvarez.

Mora told FightHype: "He’s going to have to be special because Bivol is going to have to get out of character in order to beat Canelo.

"That jab [from Bivol] is going to give him issues, and the power and size is going to give Canelo issues. But it’s not going to be enough to win.

"Caleb Plant gave Canelo some issues with the jab, some issues with the movement.

"But he didn’t have the experience, size, or the power to do anything else, and ultimately, he got knocked out in the 11th.

“[Sergey] Kovalev had the size but didn’t have the commitment and got knocked out in the 11th.

"I think Bivol might be in the same boat. He’s going to have to show up and show out."

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