Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders Preview

The biggest name in boxing will return to the ring for the second time in 2021 on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Canelo Alvarez will look to unify the super middleweight division when he takes on Billy Joe Saunders. Alvarez currently holds the WBA, WBC, and The Ring super middleweight titles, and he is hoping to add Saunders’ WBO strap to his waist.

Any time Alvarez steps into the ring, it is going to be a big event. Alvarez vs. Saunders is sure to be one of the highest selling PPVs of 2021. It will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, May 8. It will be available via DAZN with the undercard starting at 8 p.m. ET, and the main event scheduled to get underway at about 11 p.m. ET.

Alvarez vs. Saunders Betting Odds

Canelo Alvarez -750

Billy Joe Saunders +525

Alvarez was originally a -500 favorite per the boxing betting odds a month ago, but the money has poured in on him over the last few weeks. That’s not surprising considering he is the most popular boxer in the sport, and his fans tend to gradually move the line in his favor.

Background

Alvarez has already been in the ring a ton considering he is just 30 years old. This will be his 59^th fight, and he is 55-1-2 entering this Saturday’s PPV. His lone loss was a majority decision defeat to Floyd Mayweather, but he was very fortunate to not get another loss in either of his fights with Gennady Golovkin.

Most observers thought that GGG won the first fight that was ruled a draw, and while Canelo was better in the second fight, he probably shouldn’t have earned a majority decision win. According to MMA Decisions, only one of the 18 media members that scored the fight gave the win to Canelo.

To his credit, Alvarez hasn’t been tested since those megafights. He had little trouble against Rocky Fielding and scored a unanimous decision win over Daniel Jacobs two years ago. Canelo has also knocked off Sergey Kovalev, Callum Smith, and Avni Yildirim to add more titles to his resume, but Saunders will be his toughest test yet.

Saunders is 30-0 with 14 knockouts to his credit. He beat Andy Lee by a majority decision to win the WBO middleweight belt in December 2015, and he defended that belt three times before moving up to super middleweight. All of those wins were by unanimous decision, so there were questions about how his power would carry over at a higher level.

He stopped Charles Amadu in the 4^th round in his super middleweight debut. Saunders then defeated Shefat Isufi for the WBO super middleweight belt and successfully defended it twice over the last two years. It’s a big step up to face Canelo, but Saunders is undervalued at this price.

Prediction

While Canelo should be a favorite to win this fight, he shouldn’t be this large of a favorite. Saunders has a legitimate chance to pull off the upset, and Canelo isn’t as unbeatable as his ardent fans believe.

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