Canelo Alvarez hopes to extend Mexican holiday festivities with victory over Amir Khan

Reporting from Las Vegas —  Serenaded by a mariachi band and festive fans, Canelo Alvarez stepped shirtless onto the scale Friday for what he hopes will be the start of an extended run of Cinco de Mayo weekend fights.

Alvarez weighed in at the catchweight limit of 155 pounds for his first World Boxing Council middleweight title defense Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena against England’s Amir Khan, who also weighed 155.

“Great atmosphere, it was a great camp. Now it’s time to eat, relax and wait for the fight,” said Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 knockouts), before immediately retreating to a meal of pasta attended by his father and four brothers.

Former 140-pound world champion Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) couldn’t convince Alvarez to agree to a rehydration weight limit, and the challenger expects to weigh at least 10 pounds less than Alvarez at the first bell.

Alvarez, 25, said the crowd at his fights “keeps getting bigger and bigger.” And as he debuts as a pay-per-view headliner on a weekend previously reserved for greats like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Alvarez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya, and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., there’s a responsibility to cap the enthusiasm with a thrilling victory.

“He must come out swinging and look the best he’s ever looked. He’s going to take care of business. He’s prepared and ready to do that,” De La Hoya said.

It might help that Khan, who has been knocked out twice and dropped to the canvas on four other occasions, has to deal with the two-division jump in weight, although this fight is under the official 160-pound middleweight limit.

But Khan’s trainer Virgil Hunter isn’t deceived.

“[Alvarez] is a middleweight. I don’t care what anyone says,” Hunter said. “The man [has] the belt, don’t he?”

That subject has been a touchy one for Alvarez, who insists he feels more comfortable fighting around the super-welterweight limit of 154 pounds.

Alvarez has expressed little interest in fighting unbeaten two-belt middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, even though there’s a WBC mandate to do so if he beats Khan or lose the belt to Golovkin.

“The sense we’ve received from the public, from the press, is that they want to see Canelo-Golovkin,” WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said. “It is a fight that will draw world attention and both fighters deserve such a big event. Now it’s up to them to make a deal to make the fight happen.”

Golovkin and his trainer, Abel Sanchez, have said they are not yet willing to move down from fighting at the 160-pound limit, in spite of Alvarez’s far larger popularity.

Alvarez’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, was asked Thursday if the next fight will be at middleweight. Reynoso answered, “Maybe in two or three fights. But now? Not at all.”

But De La Hoya vowed Friday to call Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, if Alvarez beats Khan and open talks.

Khan is a 5-to-1 underdog for Saturday’s fight.

He was bypassed by Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in the last year. But Khan vows he has risen to this challenge and will use his speed and boxing skills to complement added strength developed in nearly a year-long absence from the ring.

“Nobody can dispute what Amir has done going up to middleweight,” Hunter said. “He’s looking for a challenge. That’s him saying, ‘I wonder how good I really am.’ The great athletes do that.”

“I’m up against a great fighter in Canelo, but with my focus, my hard work, my trainer and conditioning coach, I’m confident I can go in and win this fight,” Khan said.

Alvarez looked to his fans, some leaning over a high-rise parking lot railing to see him, and told the crowd, “I know I’m fighting a fast fighter, a fighter who moves a lot, who has a lot of experience; he’s world class. But that’s why I’ve prepared myself.”