We are now just hours away from Canelo Alvarez facing Miguel Cotto in the HBO pay-per-view main event from Las Vegas. Alvarez remains the steady favorite with odds around 3-to-1 in his favor, according to oddshark.com's listing of various sportsbooks.
Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KO) is the challenger in the fight, as he's trying to win the middleweight championship from Cotto (40-4, 33 KO), but he's also the younger fighter by 10 years, has significantly fewer miles on his body and is a somewhat naturally bigger man. He could have a considerable weight advantage once the fight is underway this evening.
Odds for the fight, as noted by Bad Left Hook's boxing betting analyst Tom Craze, have shifted from around -200 to roughly -400 territory, settling in somewhere in the middle. But despite the fact that he's the favorite, Canelo is no gimme, and this is not seen as any sort of one-sided matchup.
There are plenty out there expecting the "upset," including ESPN analyst and famed boxing trainer Teddy Atlas. He felt that Canelo looked "drawn" and "gaunt" at yesterday's weigh-in, a sign that he may have had serious trouble making weight and that's something we've seen greatly affect many fighters over the years.
On the undercard, the tightest lines of the show can be found for Takashi Miura's WBC super featherweight title defense against Francisco Vargas. Vargas is another challenger who is favored slightly by the oddsmakers right now, coming in around -150.
Miura is a proven and legitimate fighter at the weight, while Vargas is taking another step up in competition. It's a good looking fight on paper, and one where Miura did begin as the favorite. This is Miura's US debut, which could play some role in the fight.
Guillermo Rigondeaux is a massive favorite in his super bantamweight bout with Drian Francisco, with lines of around 70-to-1 in his favor, and Jayson Velez is a mild but solid favorite against Ronny Rios, favored a little under 3-to-1.