Books anticipating heavy Alvarez-Crawford action

Sportsbooks are anticipating a high volume of action leading up to Saturday night's highly-anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.

Crawford boasts an unblemished 41-0-0 career record, but is moving up two weight divisions to challenge Alvarez (63-2-2) in a 168-pound super middleweight fight.

Alvarez opened as the -200 favorite at BetMGM, but his odds had shortened to -165 by Friday afternoon while drawing 42 percent of the money wagered on the fight winner. Crawford (+160) has been supported by 33 percent of the total bets, with the fight ending in a tie drawing 44 percent of both the total bets and money at +1200.

"In a battle between two of the best boxers of this generation, I fully expect Alvarez vs. Crawford to be the most wagered on boxing match of the year," BetMGM senior trader Alex Rella said. "While Alvarez has taken a slightly higher handle in the 3-way money line (contains a draw), Crawford has received more than double the action than Canelo in regard to our 2-way money line. I anticipate the action will shift more in Alvarez's direction as we get closer to fight night."

The most popular prop for the exact fight outcome has been Alvarez at +350 to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification. The second most popular has been Crawford at +700 to win by KO, TKO or DQ.

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

The fight -- the first at Allegiant Stadium -- was arranged through a joint venture by Dana White and TKO with Saudi sports mogul Turki Al-Sheikh and Riyadh Season in an alliance that could transform the sport.

"When Turki asked me to be a part of this thing, there's absolutely no way you wouldn't do it," White said. "I've enjoyed working with both camps and both of these guys. It's going to be an incredible fight on Saturday night, and I'm honored to be here."

Saturday's match coincides with Mexican Independence Day weekend, a time of year that has become known as the biggest on the boxing calendar. The fight will be broadcast for free on Netflix, marking the first major departure from the traditional pay-per-view system for a high-profile title fight.

While the fight will technically be on American soil, Alvarez - a native of Mexico -- has made Las Vegas his de facto home during the holiday weekend. As a result, the crowd will be highly partisan in his favor.

"(I'm promising) my best," the 35-year-old Alvarez said. "I'm going to put everything I have into this and you're going to see all of my elements in this fight.

"Everybody's involved. Netflix, Riyadh Season, everybody involved around the fight. You can see how big it is. Two of the best fighters in this era fighting each other, you can see how big it is."

LEGACY BUILDERS

For the 37-year-old Crawford, the match will be a career-defining moment. The Omaha, Neb., native is as accomplished as any fighter in the sport's recent history, but he's earned only a fraction of the mainstream recognition that past fighters of his stature have received.

With devastating wins over a long list of strong fighters including Errol Spence, Shawn Porter and Amir Khan, the man affectionately known as "Bud" has emerged as the face of American championship boxing.

Crawford is fully aware of the stakes for both him and Alvarez, but he's certain in his ability to pull off the upset on one of the biggest stages.

"First and foremost, I'm definitely going to win," Crawford said. "I'm winning this fight for sure. But at the same time, I don't think losing tarnishes me or Canelo's legacy. I think Canelo's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I think that I'm a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Win, lose, or draw, we're both going to the Hall of Fame.

"That's the ultimate goal at the end of the day, to be named with all the great fighters that came before us."

--Field Level Media