Boxing Odds: Gennady Golovkin Favored In Title Fight Vs. Canelo Alvarez

Gennady Golovkin will put his perfect 37-0 professional boxing record on the line Saturday when he battles Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the unified world middleweight title as a -145 favorite on the boxing odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Golovkin has dominated the middleweight division since claiming the WBA middleweight crown with a first-round knockout win over Colombia’s Milton Nunez in August 2010. The 36-year-old native of Kazakhstan has added the WBC, IBO and IBF middleweight belts to his collection in 18 successful defenses going into Saturday night’s bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“GGG” seldom has gone the distance in his 37 career victories, finishing opponents by knockout or TKO on 33 occasions, including 18 wins inside three rounds. Golovkin was taken the distance in his last outing, going 12 rounds with American Daniel Jacobs before earning a unanimous decision as -480 chalk in mid-March.

The win over Jacobs marked just the third time in his career that Golovkin has seen a fight go beyond eight rounds. However, Saturday night’s tilt is expected to be a lengthy affair with -130 odds on the fight to go the distance on the Golovkin vs. Alvarez props board.

Canelo is pegged as a +115 underdog to hand Golovkin his first professional defeat. The 27-year-old Mexican is unbeaten in seven fights since the lone defeat of his pro career, a 12-round majority decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as a +235 underdog in 2013 that cost him The Ring, WBA and WBC light middleweight crowns.

Recently hailed as the top pound-for-pound boxer by BoxRec, Canelo has gone the distance on three occasions during his current win streak, including a unanimous decision win over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as a -425 favorite in May of this year.

However, Canelo also has demonstrated an ability to finish opponents inside the distance with 34 wins by KO and TKO.

Despite those spectacular numbers, Canelo trails GGG across the odds. Golovkin sits as a +550 bet to finish Canelo between rounds 1 and 6, with the odds of a GGG victory between rounds 7 and 12 pegged at a short +325. However, oddsmakers like Canelo’s chances if the fight goes the distance, with the Mexican pegged as a +190 bet to win on points, while Golovkin trails at +275.

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