Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez

Editor note: This is a guest editorial by Thomas Matthews of Oddschecker.
Oddschecker are the leading odds comparison site, comparing markets across all major bookmakers to find the best odds.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez has the potential to rival the Joshua/Klitschko bout in April for fight of the year. The heavy hitters from Kazakhstan and Mexico respectively will go at it and most are tipping it to be a thrilling fight as opposed to the “spectacle” that was Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor last month.

But given the nature of this contest, the betting and subsequent interest in the fight has been alarmingly non-existent compared to last month’s. Oddschecker have seen an incredible disparity in the number of total bets placed, with 3,500 so far on Canelo vs. GGG compared with over 130,000 on the Mayweather McGregor show.

The round-by-round betting comparisons also give an indication of how punters are expecting the fight to go. A total of 54.3% of bets on Saturday’s fight have been on the match to be decided in round eight or further, compared with just 18.9% in Mayweather McGregor.

Almost a quarter of round bets in last month’s showdown were on the boxers to be knocked out in the first round, with many backing McGregor to KO Mayweather early on. Punters have clearly decided that Saturday will be a more tactical affair and ultimately a more worthy fight for boxing purists.

Golovkin goes in as the favourite and the best odds you can find for him are 7/10. Canelo is the slight underdog at a best price of 13/10.

As far as way of victory goes, almost a third of bets have been on the hard hitting Golovkin to get a KO or TKO. Alvarez is favoured by 28.5% of bettors to win via decision or technical decision, and the “to win outright” market couldn’t be any closer, with 47% backing Alvarez and 46% Golovkin. It truly stands out as a fight that the punters think could go either way.