Mayweather vs. Canelo Odds: Risky Bets Worth Taking on Superfight

Floyd Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) and Saul Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) are both walking out of "The One" with over $5 million each. Of course, "Money" is making closer to the $42 million range, but fans get the idea—lots of cash rides on the outcome.

Fans themselves can make decent coin by not banking on the obvious outcomes but by taking a bit of a risk with some of the more rewarding lines.

Here are a couple of risky plays that will net huge financial gains if they come to fruition. The bets take a leap of faith, but they're sensible moves, with favorable odds to boot.

Betting lines courtesy of Bovada.lv.

Fight Does Not Go the Distance: (+225)

This is one of the tougher lines to get behind because Mayweather is infamous for taking fights the distance thanks to his self-preserving style and lack of knockout pursuit.

Mayweather has taken seven of his last nine bouts the distance. That's an overwhelming stat for someone betting this line, but there are a few reasons this fight could make it seven of his last 10.

"Canelo" is a power fighter in the utmost sense, seeking the knockout early in bouts via his powerful string of combinations and typical size advantage as someone who blooms up an average of 13 pounds from initial weigh-in to actual fight.

Not only does Canelo have a youthful advantage, but he has a weight and power advantage to boot. Either fighter scoring a knockout before the final bell rings would not be a surprise at all.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather by KO, TKO, DQ (+500)

What's that? Canelo has the knockout power, not Maywether?

That's where these two bets neatly intertwine. Canelo has the power, but he's not known for his stamina. He's been forced into an unfavorable catchweight at 152 pounds, two underneath his normal fighting weight, meaning he's had to unnaturally drop weight and then add it back on in less than 24 hours to the opening bell.

Weight loss and gain such as that isn't good on the body. Pair that with past stamina issues and the fact Canelo has yet to dance with a fighter as fast as Mayweather, and Money has a legit shot at scoring a knockout.

It also helps that Mayweather is specifically looking for the knockout.

While known for dragging fights out, there's the perfect breed of experience versus inexperience here that could see an overzealous Canelo caught by surprise with a violent counter from Mayweather. This isn't as horrible of a bet as it seems.

Note: All statistics are courtesy of CompuBox.

 

Follow B/R's Chris Roling on Twitter for more news and analysis: @Chris_Roling.