The Cinco de Mayo celebrations are rife in Mexico this weekend and they have an all-Mexican super-fight to whet their appetites throughout the fiesta.
Canelo Alvarez fights Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas for the unified super-middleweight world titles in the first all-Mexican fight for Canelo since 2017.
With plenty of intrigue on the T-Mobile Arena undercard, let’s take a look at the top five bets for this weekend’s action:
Canelo Alvarez to beat Jaime Munguia by KO/TKO/Disqualification
Canelo is an angry man this week.
The multi-weight multi-title world champion is embroiled in an ongoing feud with former promotor and Hall of Fame fighter Oscar De Loya, with the pair of proud men clashing in the press conference before this weekend’s bout.
De La Hoya is now representing Canelo’s opponent, Jaime Munguia, and may well have inadvertently given Canelo that extra 5-6% of motivation to put on a show this weekend.
Canelo has only lost to Floyd Mayweather (at the very genesis of his superstardom) and to Dmitry Bivol (35 pounds north of his weight when he debuted in 2005), so to pick a Canelo loss against his 60-2-2 record is a bold move.
Munguia is aggressive, exciting, fast and can punch – everything you want in an underdog opponent – but unfortunately has that come-forward style that seems tailor-made for Canelo’s precise and devastating left hook counter.
Canelo’s stoppage wins have dried up off of late — just one in his last four wins — so picking a KO victory for the favourite gives us some cracking value at 7/4.
Canelo Alvarez to beat Jaime Munguia by KO/TKO/Disqualification at 7/4 with bet365
Canelo vs Munguia
Canelo Alvarez to beat Jaime Munguia in Rounds 10-12
If Canelo is to stop Munguia this weekend, then down the stretch is the most likely time for it to happen.
Canelo has been fading in fights of late, but a lot of his stoppages in the 168 division have come towards the end of the fight as his opponents begin to feel the full force of his relentless body attacks.
The Mexican favourite will have huge support in Vegas, and a show-closing KO could be just the tonic to rubber-stamp his dominance in the division.
Mario Barrios to beat Fabian Andres Maidana by Decision/Technical Decision
Mario Barrios is continuing his reinvention in the welterweight division after back-to-back losses across a bruising 2021-22.
Barrios dropped a TKO loss to Gervonta Davis at super-lightweight before moving to 147 and suffering a one-sided routing by Keith Thurman.
But there is still plenty of life left in the 28-year-old and he has a chance of grabbing the WBC interim title this weekend against a guy who has travelled around south and north American throughout his career.
Argentinean Maidana is the WBC Latino title-holder at welterweight, but with his last three fights coming in ten-rounders in Argentina, he might not be well suited to a man as seasoned as Barrios.
Still, his two losses have come on the scorecards and Barrios isn’t a one-hit banger; a points win for Barrios is where the value lies.
Brandon Figueroa vs Jessie Magdaleno – Under 7.5 Rounds
“Bam-Bam” Brandon Figueroa is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and we’re pretty sure the “Heartbreaker” is going to keep than title against a fading and inactive Jessie Magdaleno.
Figueroa has bounced back with two impressive victories since losing to Steph Fulton in 2021 and is now touching distance away from a title shot in the featherweight division.
Magdaleno is 32 and albeit experienced, has miles on the clock and isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders going 2-1 in three fights since 2019.
In a fight that could catch fire early, we’re backing it to finish in the first half.
Eimantas Stanionis to beat Gabriel Maestre by KO/TKO/Disqualification
Eimantas Stanionis is a future star in the welterweight division, and he’s been overmatched against 6-1-0, 37-year-old Gabriel Maestre.
The Venezuelan has only been a pro since 2019 and looks primed for the plucking by the “regular” WBA champion.
The Lithuanian has plenty of ring rust to shed following a two-year absence — due to combined injury of him and Vergil Ortiz Jr. — but should be able to get the challenger out of there inside the distance, adding to the victory he holds over him from the amateurs.
Top Boxing Betting Offers & Free Bets
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