Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs: Boxing Odds and Predictions

Alvarez is the network’s biggest star and the -556 favourite on Saturday from Las Vegas that is being streamed on DAZN.

Alvarez vs. Jacobs Betting Odds

Truly a special night for bettors on combat sports Saturday. The UFC is staging a Fight Night card from Ottawa headlined by a lightweight bout between contenders Al Iaquinta and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, with Iaquinta currently a -140 favourite. In Bellator, there’s a card from England topped by Brent Primus vs. Tim Wilde.

Latin Americans tend to favour boxing over MMA as their combat sport of choice, and there’s always a big fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend as is the case this weekend. And it usually involves the most popular Latin boxer alive, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico.

Ring Magazine ranks the 28-year-old Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) as the No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer on the planet behind lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko and welterweight champ Terence Crawford. Alvarez is the WBA and WBC middleweight champion. His only loss came back in September 2013 by majority decision to the legendary and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter used to be Gennady Golovkin, and he and Alvarez had back-to-back wars. In September 2017 for the unified middleweight title, they fought to a controversial split draw. Nearly a year to the day later, Alvarez pulled the upset by majority decision. That put an end to GGG’s historic 160-pound title reign at a division-record 20 defences. Some thought he won both fights. Some thought Alvarez won both, although most would impartial observers would say Canelo was lucky to get a split draw in the first.

Alvarez and GGG probably will fight a third time. The two were supposed to have their rematch last Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas but it was canceled when Alvarez failed two drug tests for a performance-enhancer. Alvarez blamed tainted meat in his native Mexico. Alvarez returned to the ring last December against an overmatched Rocky Fielding at super middleweight and won by an easy third-round TKO.

Daniel Jacobs Priced as Underdog

Ring Magazine ranks the 32-year-old American Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs) as the third-best middleweight in the world behind Alvarez and GGG. Jacobs, who overcame potentially fatal bone cancer early this decade, claimed the IBF middleweight title last October with a split-decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

Jacobs’ only loss since 2011 was to Golovkin by unanimous decision in March 2017 for the unified middleweight crown. Jacobs will have about a 3-inch reach advantage on Alvarez and is around four inches taller. Jacobs is the clearly bigger man and the more natural middleweight but is a +351 underdog.

The other middleweight titlist is WBO champ Demetrius Andrade (27-0, 17 KOs), who might get a shot at Saturday’s winner. More than likely, it will be Golovkin facing the winner this fall.