The much-anticipated Canelo vs. GGG fight has been nearly two years in the making. Finally, on Saturday night, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady "Triple G" Golovkin will battle in Las Vegas for the unified middleweight championship.
When boxing fans get a mega-fight like this, there are sure to be plenty of bets in Las Vegas.
MORE: Follow Canelo vs. GGG results, live updates with SN
Canelo vs. GGG odds
The Canelo vs. GGG odds are pretty narrow. Online Vegas sportsbook Bovada's fight odds (as of Sept. 14) have Golovkin as a slight favorite to win the fight at -145, which means you'd need to wager $145 to win $100. Alvarez is a +115 underdog; you would win $115 from a $100 wager.
Canelo vs. GGG predictions, picks
Steven Muehlhausen (@SMuehlhausenMMA)
This is the biggest fight in boxing. Enormous expectations have been placed on Alvarez and Golovkin to deliver the greatest fight we have seen in this generation.
When Alvarez first went to middleweight and beat Miguel Cotto in November 2015 by unanimous decision to win the WBC middleweight title, the belief was that there was no way Alvarez would stand a chance against Golovkin. Then came the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight this past May.
That fight took place at 164.5 pounds, four above Saturday's contest; Alvarez had never fought above 155 pounds. He didn't miss a beat, dominating from the outset.
At that point, it seemed like Canelo might be the best boxer in the world, having just beat a former middleweight champion who had competed at 168 and 175 pounds. But Golovkin is the most dangerous fighter in boxing. It is hard to overlook someone who's 37-0-0 with 33 knockouts, 23 of those knockouts coming consecutively before his fight in March against former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs.
MORE: The five biggest fights of GGG's career
Both Alvarez and Golovkin have grown as boxers in the last two years. However, Alvarez has had tougher fights against the likes of Cotto, Erislandy Lara and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Meanwhile, many boxing pundits have questioned the selection of Golovkin's opponents, suggesting they were cherry-picked by his management team to pad his record.
Golovkin has competed in this division his entire career, getting hit by 160-pound fighters which is something Alvarez didn't experience against Chavez Jr. Golovkin isn't Chavez Jr. He's wanted this fight for a long time and had Alvarez circled as the guy who could make him a superstar. "GGG" won't be content sitting on the outside and popping off the jab. Golovkin will hit Alvarez and hit him often.
At the end of the day, the fight will deliver. Neither will take a back seat and relent to the other. The power of Golovkin will wear Alvarez down and prove to be too much for him as the bout goes on into the later rounds.
Pick: Golovkin by ninth-round KO.
Joe Rivera (@JoeRiveraSN)
Canelo vs. GGG is such a hard fight to predict.
On one hand, Canelo's boxing has improved over his last five or six fights. He's got some power. He doesn't set himself up for nasty counter punches. He's pretty sound defensively.
On the other hand, Canelo has never fought a boxer with the power that Golovkin has. There was James Kirkland, who has an insane KO percentage. But really, that's about it.
Canelo is coming off a cakewalk fight vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (which, if you haven't seen it, don't). Chavez won via unanimous decision, and it was a 120-108 clean sweep of the judges' scorecards. It seemed to be a glorified tune-up.
MORE: The five biggest fights of Canelo's career
When you look at Golovkin's last bout in March vs. Danny Jacobs, you'll see that technically sound boxers can give Golovkin some issues and, if nothing else, hold him at bay.
I can see Alvarez moving around a lot, staying active, avoiding the Golovkin jab, and tapping "GGG" with just enough to win on the scorecards.
But, man, is it close. It is so close.
Pick: Canelo via unanimous decision.
Canelo vs. GGG prop bets
For a fight of this magnitude, prop bets always surface. There are a couple intriguing bets to wager on if you want to go the unconventional route and, in the process, win some good money, here you go:
| Method of victory | Odds |
| Draw or Technical Draw | 16/1 |
| Golovkin by KO, TKO or DQ | 8/5 |
| Golovkin by Decision or Technical Decision | 11/4 |
| Alvarez by KO, TKO or DQ | 11/2 |
| Alvarez by Decision or Technical Decision | 2/1 |
Knockdown props
Will Canelo Alvarez be knocked down?
Yes -110 (10/11)
No -110 (10/11)
Will Gennady Golovkin be knocked down?
Yes +300 (3/1)
No 500 (1/5)
Will Either Fighter be knocked down?
Yes -200 (1/2)
No 140 (7/5)
Gennady Golovkin To Be Knocked Down And Win
Yes +700 (7/1)
No -2000 (1/20)
Canelo Alvarez To Be Knocked Down And Win
Yes +600 (6/1)
No -1600 (1/16)
Will Both Fighters be knocked down?
Yes +700 (7/1)
No -2000 (1/20)
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Junkies" here. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.