Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders Odds & Prediction

After he made short work of Avni Yildirim, it was quickly announced that Canelo Alvarez’s next fight will come against Billy Joe Saunders to unify three of the four major super middleweight belts.

Canelo vs Saunders is scheduled for Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 8 and will be seen on DAZN as part of a Matchroom Boxing promotion. The bout will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in front of 60,000 fans.

Looking at the Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders odds, it should come as no surprise that Alvarez, the WBA, WBC and The Ring super middleweight champion, is the betting favorite while Saunders, the WBO super middleweight champ, is listed as the underdog.

Online sportsbook [Sportsbook not available for your region] has released Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders odds, with Canelo coming in as the sizable -700 favorite and Saunders coming back as a +450 underdog. This means you would have to wager $700 to profit $100 on a Canelo win, while a $100 bet on a Saunders win would profit you $450.

Canelo vs Saunders Odds

Odds as of May 8 at [Sportsbook not available for your region]

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Looking at the Canelo vs Saunders odds with our sports betting calculator, Alvarez’s odds of -700 represent an implied win probability of 87.50 percent while Saunders’ implied win probability is 18.18 percent.

New to betting on the fights? Be sure to check out our great how to bet on boxing guide. Also keep an eye on our boxing odds page for the latest up-to-date Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders betting odds. Odds Shark also caters to UFC fight analysis as well.

Canelo vs Saunders Odds Analysis

Billy Joe Saunders’ third WBO super middleweight title defense will definitely be his hardest, putting his perfect 30-0 record in jeopardy. For Canelo Alvarez, Saunders is one of two men standing in the way of him becoming the first-ever undisputed super middleweight champion. The other man is Caleb Plant, who currently holds the IBF super middleweight belt.

Saunders facing his longest odds to date

For the majority of his career, “Superb” has walked into the ring as the minus-odds favorite and walked out with another victory on his record. His previous longest odds in fights that odds were available for came in his final WBO middleweight title defense against David Lemieux when he was just a -140 favorite; he won that fight via unanimous decision. Saunders has otherwise been favored at -300 or greater in those fights, so this will be the first time he will be a plus-money option.

Is there actually value on Canelo?

Betting on a -700 favorite is a tough pill to swallow, considering if you lay $100, you’re only profiting $14.29. That said, from an odds history perspective, Canelo’s -700 betting line would have value considering that he has been a four-figure favorite in four of his last nine bouts, including a ridiculous -10000 chalk in his victory over Yildirim on February 27.

Canelo vs Saunders Preview

As mentioned above regarding the perceived value behind Alvarez, it comes with merit as Saunders is no slouch and is a much more worthy opponent than Yildirim was. This is a true title unification bout that will be hotly contested with men getting their licks in.

Can Saunders frustrate Canelo?

Billy Joe has some of the tools that could really make this fight interesting, especially on the scorecards. Though he lacks a lot of punching power, with just 14 knockouts over his 30-win career and only two over his last eight, his raw boxing skills are tremendous.

A slick southpaw with great footwork and a snappy jab, Saunders’ ability to stick and move and maintain distance is his path to victory. The major issue, though, will be earning Canelo’s respect when he doesn’t have real knockout power.

As well, given the power coming back his way, Saunders could be a little hesitant to throw his combinations to score repeatedly, so he will have to be masterful defensively if he wants a decision victory.

Alvarez must be a bulldog

One of the reasons that Yildirim was a perfect matchup for Canelo was his preference for standing in the pocket and exchanging hands with his opponents. Against Alvarez, he didn’t see the fourth round.

Alvarez will have to counter effectively off Saunders’ long jab and land his power combinations once he gets inside. Although his opponent’s punching power likely won’t scare him off, he will have to be careful not to set up his entries as Billy Joe is fantastic at stopping fighters in their tracks when they enter the pocket without a proper setup.

Canelo vs Saunders Pick

Overall, I think Saunders will present some issues and tricks that Canelo will need to figure out. That said, if Alvarez is able to consistently find entries to land his counters and his tremendous body work, that’ll slow Billy Joe’s footwork and could leave him a sitting duck.

Ultimately, I believe this is going to be a good showing for both men, pitting a power puncher against a man who will be looking to be as elusive as a cat. Canelo should be able to solve the puzzle but I’m not confident he puts Saunders away.

Prediction: Canelo Alvarez (-700) 

Canelo vs Saunders Prop Bets

As mentioned above, laying the -700 for an average bettor is simply not worth the risk so choosing a prop bet is your better option for more value. For me, I think that Billy Joe is elusive and has such a high fight IQ that he definitely could survive this fight so I'm looking at two props, Canelo by decision at +155 and then a 0.5 unit on Canelo in rounds 10-12 at +500.

Here's a look at all of the Canelo vs Saunders prop bets:

Odds as of May 8 at [Sportsbook not available for your region]

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