The undisputed super middleweight title will be on the line on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Mexico as Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez makes his homecoming to defend his titles against John Ryder.
All of the 168-pound belts will be up for grabs as Canelo looks to extend his legacy as the face of boxing right now, while Ryder steps into the ring for the biggest fight of his career to date.
We'll break down the fight and provide you with our best free boxing picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash.
Remember that these bookies offer plenty of betting bonuses and promotions.
Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder information
- Saturday, May 6th 2023
- Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
- WBA, WBO, IBF, WBC and The Ring super middleweight championships (168lbs)
- 12 x 3 minute rounds
- Live on DAZN
Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder odds
- Canelo Alvarez - (-2000)
- John Ryder - (+1000)
Canelo is right regarded as one of the greatest boxers of his generation, with a stunning professional record of 58-2-2 that includes 39 knockouts.
Alvarez has won nine of his last ten bouts stretching back to the second fight with Gennady Golovkin in 2018. His only defeat in that time came as he tried to move up to light heavyweight but was outsized and outclassed by Dmitry Bivol.
He bounced back in great style last time out though, beating Golovkin again in their trilogy bout via a unanimous decision after 12 rounds.
You can bet on Canelo to continue his fantastic record at a best price of -2000, meaning you need to bet $2000 to earn a $100 profit.
He'll be standing across the ring from British fighter Ryder, who has a professional record of 32-5 including 18 knockouts.
Since losing a super-middleweight title fight with Callum Smith back in 2019, Ryder has gone on a four-fight winning streak with decision wins over Mike Guy and Daniel Jacobs while he claimed knockout victories over Jozef Jurko and Zach Parker.
You can bet on "The Gorilla" to cause one of the biggest upsets of the century so far at a best price of +1000, meaning you will earn $1000 for every $100 you bet if he claims the victory.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder preview
Boxing fans will love to watch Canelo in action, but this is going to be a very one-sided and uneven match up in Guadalajara.
The Brit is a grinder who works with pressure and volume rather than power, something that Canelo will be expected to pick apart with relative ease. Without a glaring size advantage or elite level technique that can prevent Alvarez from getting into his rhythm Ryder just doesn’t have the tools to spring an upset.
Ryder has got a fantastic chin and is proven to be just as strong in the latter rounds as the early ones, but he's coming up against a true monster with ferocious power and technique.
Canelo loves to march forward with a high guard and uses his jab and feints brilliantly to set up how power punches, but his body attacks are also among the best in the world and that will definitely effect the gas tank of Ryder. Canelo can grind his way to wins when he needs to, but this is set up for him to put on a show.
Ryder will be looking to stifle Alvarez by closing the distance and forcing him against the ropes with forward pressure and his jab. He'll have to back his chin because he will get hit while going for it, but he'll be in much less danger if he can force his opponent to go backwards.
Boxing picks: Canelo in style
As already mentioned, this fight is likely to be a very one-sided affair in favor of the Mexican.
Alvarez is a fantastic boxer with solid technique and vicious power, but he's also capable of just out-classing opponents with his fight IQ.
He knows when to push forward with attacks and be aggressive, while he's also capable of slowing the fight down to put his opponents out of their rhythm before exploding with terrific speed to end the fight in an instant.
The likelihood of how this fight goes is that Canelo looks to show his qualities early with his jab and feints and just out-works Ryder who he has an advantage over in every aspect of the fight. Ryder will try to grind him out by pushing forward and being aggressive, but he'll likely eat some big counters in the process.
As the fight progresses and the body work and damage starts to build, Canelo will become more aggressive and start looking for the finish in front of his home crowd and the likelihood is that he finds it with a flurry of punches in the second half of the bout.
There's no value in backing Canelo to win this fight on the moneyline, so shorten the odds by backing him to win via knockout and retain his super-middleweight championships in the party atmosphere of Mexico.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
