Alvarez Leads Betting Odds to Beat Jacobs to Unified Middleweight Title

With the Crawford-Khan bout behind us, the boxing world’s attention now turns to another blockbuster fight: Alvarez v Jacobs on May 4.

This matchup at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will serve as a unification bout. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez holds the WBA and WBC Middleweight titles while Daniel Jacobs holds the IBF Middleweight crown. Mexican Alvarez is the clear favourite heading into his bout with American Jacobs, who actually held the WBA title from 2014 to 2017.

The Canelo-Alvarez bout has been a long time coming since the fight was announced back in January. Canelo brings a 50-1-2 record to the fight, while Jacobs has a 35-2 fight record.

Alvarez v Jacobs Betting Odds

We checked out 2 offers from top online bookmakers and found that Alvarez is a clear favorite. For example, Paddy Power is paying 4/11 for Alvarez to win and 9/4 for Jacobs. In terms of method of victory, the likeliest option is Alvarez by points or decision, which is paying 10/11.

Alvarez has a 16-1-1 record in bouts that have gone the distance, while Jacobs has a 6-1 record when going the distance. The odds are this one goes the full 12 rounds. If there’s a knockout, then the odds suggest it’ll happen in the middle rounds. Bet365 is paying 14/1 for a result in rounds five, six or seven respectively. It is paying 28/1 for a result in the first round.

Middleweight Title to be Streamed on DAZN 

This fight will be notable not only because it’s for the unified Middleweight title but also because of how it will be broadcast. HBO is no longer the place to go for boxing, and millions of viewers around the world will stream the Alvarez-Jacobs bout via sports streaming service DAZN.

Alvarez signed a deal with DAZN in October 2018 following HBO’s announcement that it would stop airing boxing. The five-year, 11-fight contract will 2, reportedly making him the highest-paid athlete on the planet.

The 28-year-old Guadalajara native has clearly risen to stardom at the right time. By last year, he had already made a name for himself with wins over the likes of Austin “No Doubt” Trout, Sugar Shane Mosley, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo, Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara and Liam “Beefy” Smith. In September 2018, Alvarez defeated Gennady Golovkin for the WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Middleweight crown.

Canelo has the RING title but he wants all the 160 straps.

This was perfect timing, coming just a month before he signed the DAZN contract.

Alvarez Faces a True Champ in Jacobs

Whether he wins or loses, Jacobs will always come away a winner in the eyes of fans. The 31-year-old Brooklyn native is considered one of the best middleweights of his era, not least because of his 2012 comeback from a rare form of bone cancer that kept him out of the sport for 19 months.

Dubbed the “Miracle Man” because of his miraculous recovery, Jacobs will be confident of taking Alvarez all the way. His most recent loss was to the previously mentioned Gennady Golovkin in 2017. Jacobs has won his last three bouts by decision, including a split decision against Ukrainian Serhiy Derevianchenko in October 2018 to win the vacant IBF Middleweight Title.

When the Alvarez-DAZN deal was announced, his promoter Oscar De La Hoya said Alvarez wanted “the best fights and the biggest challenges”.

Whatever the result on May 4, the Alvarez-Jacobs bout is sure to be a great one.