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Alvarez versus Yildrim preview: Canelo’s calm before the storm

3 years ago
| BY News Team

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returns to the ring this weekend, coming off the back of an emphatic victory against Britain’s Callum Smith in December, facing WBC mandatory challenger Avni Yildrim.

Short turnaround for the Canelo camp

Fight fans can look forward to the possibility of a Canelo triple header in the space of six months, if all goes to plan this weekend, with May touted as a provisional date for a unification bout with Billy Joe Saunders.

Team Canelo have made their plans clear – the goal is to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion before the end of 2021, which would mean that Canelo must defeat Yildrim this weekend, Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO belt in May, and Caleb Plant for the IBF crown later in the year.

Given that Canelo is used to fighting on a biyearly basis, once for ‘Cinco de Mayo’ and once for Mexican Independence Day in September, the possibility of the 30-year-old fighting four times in the space of 12 months is a mouth-watering prospect for boxing fanatics.

Banana skin awaits on Saturday

Avni Yildrim has managed to nail the biggest fight in boxing despite losing to Antony Dirrell in his last outing in February of 2019.

It’ll be over two years since the 29-year-old last fought competitively, and you’d have to imagine that ring rust will prove a factor in this fight.

With Canelo’s last outing coming just over three months ago, he’ll be sharp from the first bell. Yildrim cannot afford to start slow against the Mexican, often a factor when a boxer has had an extended time away from the ring, and Canelo will not be shy of attempting to make short work of this fight.

There’s power in the hands of Yildrim, who has 13 stoppages in his 23-fight career, but ultimately it’ll come down to a test of his durability, his ability to weather the storm in the early rounds.

Canelo will be looking to make a statement on Saturday, a knockout or stoppage that’ll help to garner interest in the two possible super-fights that may await him in victory, and with talk of Billy Joe Saunders standing by in the crowd at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, the methods of motivation are stacking up. You can get Canelo to secure the KO/TKO/DQ victory at 1/16.

 

There’s more value to be had in the rounds betting category, with the champion 13/2, 6/1 and 5/1 to win the fight in rounds 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

 

If you like the underdog story, get Yildrim to win the fight at 14/1, or to win by KO/TKO/DQ at 20/1.

 

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