Canelo vs Crawford predictions and tips with 12/1 treble
Sports Journalist at FST, Gareth qualified as a journalist after graduating from university and spent over a decade as a freelance broadcast journalist, commentator and tipster before joining FST. Now living in Manchester, he is a long suffering Bolton Wanderers fan who also enjoys boxing, the NBA, tennis and rugby league.
Two of the biggest stars in boxing meet in a huge showdown at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez defends his super middleweight world titles against unbeaten four-division world champion Terence Crawford.
Billed as ‘Once in a Lifetime’, Crawford is making the step up to 168lbs for the first time in his career after claiming undisputed honours at both light welterweight and welterweight – although his last bout was at 154lbs.
Crawford has a perfect 41-0 record with 31 knockouts but he is rated as the underdog against Canelo. The Mexican legend has an incredible 62-2-2 record with 39 stoppages, with his two defeats coming against elite fighters in Floyd Mayweather Jr and reigning undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
I’ve got the headline event covered, details on how to watch and a 12/1 treble for Saturday’s boxing in Sin City.
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How to watch Canelo vs Crawford
The fight will be broadcast on streaming service Netflix and is free for existing subscribers. Coverage starts at 2am BST on Sunday. A Netflix subscription costs from £5.99 per month.
Who is on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard?
- Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford (super-middleweight)
- Callum Walsh vs Fernando Vargas Jr (super-welterweight)
- Christian Mbilli vs Lester Martinez (super-middleweight)
- Mohammed Alakel vs John Ornelas (lightweight)
- Serhii Bohacuk vs Brandon Adams (middleweight)
- Ivan Dychko vs Jermaine Franklin (heavyweight)
- Reito Tsutsumi vs Javier Martinez (super-featherweight)
- Sultan Almohammed vs Martin Caraballo (super-lightweight)
- Steven Nelson vs Raiko Santana (light-heavyweight)
Canelo vs Crawford prediction and fight preview
This is an incredibly tricky fight to call as there are so many variables to consider. Canelo has reigned supreme at super middleweight for nearly five years and has never lost in this division, but since completing a trilogy with a victory over Gennady Golovkin in 2022 he hasn’t faced any major challenges.
Crawford is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter right now but whether or not he can handle the jump up in weight remains to be seen. Canelo isn’t necessarily a devastating puncher – his last six wins have all come on points – but he still carries more power than Bud will have faced previously.
Crawford is the quicker of the two men, but labelling this contest as a big puncher (Canelo) against a technician (Crawford) is unfair on both fighters. Canelo also has an exceptionally high boxing IQ and superb defensive skills, while Crawford has the timing and power to end fights early.
No result would register as a massive shock in this fight and I’m viewing this as pretty much a 50-50 contest. I am leaning towards Crawford, however, and the fact he is a switch-hitter, potentially the best ever in that regard, gives him a possible edge.
Canelo has struggled against southpaws in the past. He edged out Erislandy Lara via a split decision back in 2014 and Billy Joe Saunders gave him a few close rounds in their world title fight in 2021, before Canelo found his range and connected with a brutal uppercut in the eighth round. The Mexican did win both of those fights, but Crawford is way ahead of both Lara and Saunders and he could prove a puzzle that Canelo just can’t solve if he is able to seamlessly switch between stances on Saturday.
Canelo has never been stopped or even knocked down in a 67-fight career, despite facing the likes of Golovkin and Bivol. As a single bet, backing Crawford to win on points looks a strong option but for the purposes of the card treble I’m going to stick with a straightforward win for the man from Nebraska as that price offers enough value without adding the further risk of a method of victory.
Canelo vs Crawford card treble tip
Terence Crawford to win
Vs Saul Alvarez
Fight to go the distance – No
Callum Walsh vs Fernando Vargas Jr
The chief support could be a great match-up between unbeaten southpaws Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr at super welterweight.
The standout bet here looks to be simply backing either fighter to force a stoppage. Walsh has a 14-0 record with 11 KOs and 15 of Vargas’ victories have come inside the distance.
Lester Martinez to win
Vs Christian Mbilli
Christian Mbilli defends his interim WBC super middleweight strap against Lester Martinez and the winner could potentially be in line to challenge Canelo or Crawford next.
Big-hitting Mbilli is the favourite but Martinez looks capable of causing an upset. The Guatemalan has a strong defensive and exceptional handspeed, and stylistically this looks a good match-up for him. These fighters have an opponent in common in Carlos Gongora and Martinez’s win over the Ecuadorian was probably better than Mbilli’s. Martinez claimed a wide points decision, whereas Mbilli came through a few tough moments but a big finish saw him claim a decision win over Gongora.
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