Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders: time, how to watch, background
canelo alvarez and billy joe saunders are set to unify three of the four major 168-pound titles saturday at the dallas cowboys’ home stadium.
CANELO ALVAREZ (55-1-2, 37 KOs) VS.
BILLY JOE SAUNDERS (30-0, 14 KOs)
Date: Saturday, May 8
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV/Stream: DAZN and pay-per-view
Cost: DAZN is $99 annually or $19 per month; pay-per-view is $69.99 (includes access to DAZN through the summer)
Division: Super middleweight
At stake: Alvarez’s WBA and WBC, and Saunders WBO titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: Alvarez No. 2
Odds: Alvarez 5½-1 favorite as of Friday (BetMGM)
Also on the card: Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama, junior flyweights (for Soto’s WBO title); Kieron Conway vs. Souleymane Cissokho, junior middleweights; Frank Sanchez vs. Nagy Aguilera, heavyweights
Prediction: Alvarez KO 10
Background: Alvarez has said he wants to unify all four major 168-pound titles after winning two of them by easily outpointing Callum Smith this past December. A victory over the underdog Saunders would give him three pieces and set up a showdown for the undisputed championship against IBF titleholder Caleb Plant in September. The 30-year-old Mexican star last fought on Feb. 27, when he stopped overmatched mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in three rounds. Thus, he will have been out of the ring for only 2½ months. Alvarez is 13-0-1 since he lost a wide decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, a period in which he has climbed to top of some pound-for-pound lists. Alvarez is 6-0 against British fighters. Saunders, 31, is a polished boxer with limited power who has won major titles in two divisions. He won his super middleweight belt by easily outpointing Shefat Isufi in May 2019 and has successfully defended twice. He stopped Marcelo Coceres in 11 rounds to win what had been a close fight in November 2019 and nearly shut out veteran Martin Murray this past December. Saunders has some notable victories – Chris Eubank Jr., Andy Lee, Willie Monroe Jr., David Lemieux and Murray – but he has never tangled with anyone near Alvarez’s ability.
