After forcing Australian boxer Daniel Geale to starve himself to make weight, WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto plans to go in the for the kill.

Geale and Cotto will step into the ring inside the 18,000-seat Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday.

Cotto is the short-priced favorite to defend his title, but the aggressive Puerto Rican also has the most to lose with a pay-per-view mega fight with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez pencilled in later in the year.

"They're looking past me, which has given me extra motivation," Geale said.

"They're expecting me not to put up much of a challenge."

The 178cm tall Geale overcame a major hurdle on Friday when he made the 71.2kg catch weight Cotto's camp demanded when they negotiated the fight.

The pitbull-like Cotto only stand 170cm tall and came in light at 69.67kg.

The question is: how much of a toll did Geale's fasting take on him?

ESPN described Geale as looking "as dry as a potato chip" at the weigh-in and Cotto's trainer Freddie Roach was licking his lips at the prospect of taking advantage of the weakened Australian.

"For the first five rounds, we're going all body (attack)," Roach told ESPN.

"He seemed fragile and very, very thin."