The WBA (super), The Ring, and WBC super middleweight titles will be on the line on Saturday when Canelo Alvarez takes on Callum Smith as a lofty -650 favourite on the boxing betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The 30-year-old Mexican claimed the WBA crown with a convincing third-round TKO victory over Rocky Fielding back in December 2018, and has earned the win in each of his past four overall contests going into Saturday night’s bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Currently set at No. 1 in BoxRec’s pound-for-pound rankings, Alvarez has held world titles in four different weight divisions. Overall, Alvarez has competed in five different weight divisions during his pro career, and he briefly added the WBO light heavyweight title to his collection in his last outing 13 months ago with an 11th-round knockout victory over champion Sergey Kovalev as -400 chalk at sports betting sites.
With that win, Canelo improved his professional boxing record to a sparkling 53-1-2, including 36 victories by knockout. However, Mexico’s biggest boxing star has increasingly seen his fights go the distance, with nine of his past 16 contests getting decided by the judges. That run includes the only loss of his career, a 12-round majority decision defeat at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in 2013.
Smith aims to improve his unblemished pro boxing record to 28-0 when he steps into the ring on Saturday as a +425 underdog. The 30-year-old Englishman claimed WBA (Super) and The Ring super middleweight titles with a decisive seventh-round knockout of fellow Briton George Groves in September, and has successfully defended his belts on two occasions since then.
Smith needed less than three rounds to dispose of Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam as a massive betting favourite in his first title defence in June 2019. But Smith needed a unanimous nod from judges in his followup win over John Ryder five months later, paying out as -2500 chalk.
Like Alvarez, Smith regularly finished opponents early in his career, recording opening-round knockouts in six of his first eight professional fights. Overall, the Liverpool native has claimed victory by KO or TKO in 19 of his 27 ring appearances, but has seen three of his past five outings go a full 12 rounds.
Despite those trends, Smith is not expected to last the full 12 rounds on Saturday. The odds of the fight not going the distance sit at -155, with Alvarez listed as a short -120 wager on the boxing odds to win by KO, TKO, or DQ.
