Boxing : Canelo Expected to Thump Chavez

It might be one of the biggest boxing matches of the year, but it doesn’t look very competitive. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KO) is a –650 favorite at press time to beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KO) this Saturday in Las Vegas. There won’t even be any titles on the line in this catchweight bout – just the commemorative Cinco de Mayo belt the WBC made for the winner.

It’s the catchweight that’s threatening to turn this fight into a laugher. According to their contract, both gentlemen have to make weight at 164.5 pounds; that’s going to be very taxing for the 6-foot-1 Chavez, who fought at 168 pounds this past December. It won’t be a problem for Canelo at 5-foot-9. He’s bulked up for this bout, with an eye on moving up to the middleweight division full-time.
Most boxing insiders expect Chavez to come up short. That includes Gennady Golovkin, who holds almost all the major titles at middleweight. Golovkin, who expects to fight the winner, says Chavez will run out of gas after two or three rounds because of the weight cut.

Boxing Odds: Canelo-Chavez in “Civil War”

It’ll have all the glitz and glamour of Cinco de Mayo weekend, but Saturday’s big PPV fight in Las Vegas between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KO) and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KO) looks like a mismatch. Canelo is the –650 favorite at press time.

This non-title bout is being held at a catchweight of 164.5 pounds, well below the 168 pounds Chavez fought at in December – and that was already a difficult weight cut for him. Canelo, on the other hand, has been bulking up since taking the WBO light middleweight strap off Liam Smith last September.