Alvarez v Saunders odds
Two super middleweight champions face off on Saturday night as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez takes on Billy Joe Saunders in a massive unification fight.
Alvarez is the WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring champion, having won the belts via a unanimous decision victory over Callum Smith in December 2020.
Since losing to Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, the Mexican has won 13 and drawn one of his 14 fights, winning world titles at light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight in the process.
Wins over some huge names including Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev have made Canelo the biggest star in the sport, and the No. 1 fighter in The Ring pound-for-pound rankings.
He’s a formidable opponent for Saunders, the WBO champion who is still yet to lose in his 30-fight career.
The Englishman held the WBO middleweight title from December 2015 to December 2017 before stepping up a division in May 2019.
He won the vacant super middleweight belt against Shefat Isufi and has since defended it successfully on two occasions.
Saunders has never really looked troubled as a world champion, but this is a major test against one of the world’s most feared fighters and he’s currently a 9/2 underdog.
Alvarez, meanwhile, is the 1/8 favourite.
Alvarez v Saunders prediction
Canelo is 6-0 against British fighters in his career with four knockouts, and it’s hard to imagine anything other than a win for the Mexican over his English opponent on Saturday.
Alvarez has proven himself an elite fighter in so many different weight classes, and although he’s fighting a division above his natural weight on Saturday, the same is true of Saunders.
With his rare combination of physical and technical attributes, Canelo has consistently overpowered his opponents at 160lbs, and been too fast and slick for those at 168lbs and above.
Saunders is a brilliant technical boxer – he memorably made David Lemieux look very silly in a fantastic performance back in 2017 – but he’s yet to face anyone even close to Alvarez’s level.
He dominated Martin Murray last time out in December, but Saunders has also had a few underwhelming performances in the past couple of years. Perhaps he’s struggled for motivation against lesser opponents, but anything less that his best on Saturday will surely see him soundly beaten.
Even his best will probably not be good enough. Canelo has faced all kinds of fighters in his career, including slick counter punchers like Saunders, and always finds a way to impose himself physically.
The 30-year-old is simply a class above everyone else and although he may drop a couple of rounds early on, he looks a safe bet to earn a comfortable decision victory here.
Alvarez to win on points 5/4
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