On May 8th, at the AT&T Stadium, Texas, Mexican boxer Saul Alvarez will be looking to defend his WBA (Super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight titles, while also looking to snatch the WBO belt from opponent, Brit, Billy Joe Saunders in a unification bout.
There’s a lot on the line, and if you’re looking to bet on the Saul Alvarez v Billy Joe Saunders fight, you’ll find that the odds are very much in the favour of the former. So, while we look forward to fight night, let’s take a look back at some of Alvarez’ greatest showings in the ring.
1. That Rematch Against Gennady Golovkin
After the controversy that surrounded their first bout, in which Golovkin would feel rightly aggrieved that it was scored a split decision draw, a year later, Alvarez took on GGG again. ‘Canelo’ came into this bout with a point to prove and that aggression showed, as while he didn’t land more successful punches, he landed them harder than his opponent. And the judges agreed, scoring the bout in Alvarez’ favour: 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113, to win by majority decision. The Ring Magazine named it ‘Fight of the Year 2018’ and the Mexican walked away with the WBA (Super), WBC and vacant The Ring middleweight titles.
2. Knocking out ‘Krusher’ Kovalev
It was a risk to take, moving up the divisions from middleweight to light-heavyweight to take on the big Russian, but it was a move that paid of for Alvarez. It was an edgy encounter, in which both boxers looked fairly level – and the bout was waiting for that one killer blow to settle it. After 10 rounds has passed, it was ‘Canelo’ that struck – landing a left hook, flush to Kovalev’s jaw. As he wobbled, the Mexican capitalized, launching a right hook to send ‘Krusher’ to the floor – an emphatic knockout. A packed MGM Grand Garden watched on as Alvarez showed the world what he could do, becoming a four-division world champion and winning the WBO light-heavyweight title.
3. Reigniting The Mexico-Puerto Rico Rivalry
Back in the middleweight division, Alvarez took on the Puerto Rican veteran, Miguel Cotto (40-4 – 33 KOs). With Cotto’s lineal and The Ring middleweight titles on the line, there was also the vacant WBC belt up for grabs. Having previously lost his titles in his defeat to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, Alvarez wasn’t making the same mistakes twice – and he won the bout by unanimous decision to become a two-division world champion. He won this third title in December 2018, and made it four in the aforementioned knockout win over ‘Krusher’ Kovalev.
4. Knocking Out ‘King’ Khan
While there were no vacant titles up for grabs, Alvarez was looking to retain his WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight belts, and the first defense of his titles came against Amir Khan. Billed as ‘Power versus Speed’, Alvarez had previously won four on the bounce, while Khan had secured five straight victories, since he was rattled by Danny Garcia. And having gone up two divisions for this bout, Khan was rattled again. It was in the sixth round that ‘Canelo’ landed a powerful right-hand that sent the Brit to the canvas, and unable to continue.
5. Unification of The Middleweight Division
Looking to justify the boxing betting tips from Betfair, Alvarez took on American, Daniel Jacobs, as he returned to the middleweight division, looking for unification. It was a close encounter that went the distance, with both men putting in a very technical performance. However, ‘Canelo’ dictated the pace and level of aggression – clearly buoyed by his recent wins over Golovkin and Rocky Fielding. Through his tactics and style of fighting, he frustrated ‘The Miracle Man’ and won by unanimous decision.