Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan: Undercard Schedule, Online Odds and Picks
Amir Khan's bold challenge for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's WBC middleweight title on Saturday night is one of the biggest boxing matchups in 2016. Fans should tune in to the pay-per-view event well before the two step into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This undercard should not be overlooked.
The big draw is the return to the ring of noted action fighter David Lemieux, who will take on Glen Tapia for the vacant WBO NABO middleweight title. Lemieux was last seen making a valiant but ultimately futile effort against Gennady Golovkin—a potential future opponent for the winner of Khan-Alvarez—in October, losing by eighth-round TKO.
Two other fights are also on the pay-per-view undercard. Undefeated up-and-comer Frankie Gomez will take on Mauricio Herrera in a welterweight clash, and middleweight Curtis Stevens will look to put his latest loss behind him with a win over Patrick Teixeira.
The non-televised preliminary bouts also feature the likes of Diego De La Hoya and Rashidi Ellis, who is 14-0 with 11 KOs.
The HBO pay-per-view televised card begins at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here's the rundown of the televised card, complete with picks and the latest odds for each bout.
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| Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) vs. Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) | Middleweight (catchweight: 155 pounds) | WBC World middlweight | Khan 7-2, Alvarez 1-5 | Alvarez TKO |
| David Lemieux (34-3, 31 KOs) vs. Glen Tapia (23-2, 15 KOs) | Middlweight | WBO NABO middlweight (vacant) | Lemieux 1-16, Tapia 8-1 | Lemieux KO |
| Frankie Gomez (20-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mauricio Herrera (22-5, 7 KOs) | Welterweight | N/A | Herrera 12-5, Gomez 10-31 | Gomez UD |
| Curtis Stevens (27-5, 20 KOs) vs. Patrick Teixeira (26-0, 22 KOs) | Middleweight | WBC Continental Americas middlweight (vacant) | Stevens 29-20, Teixeira 4-7 | Teixeira UD |
Note: Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m. ET.
Pay-Per-View Undercard Preview
The bout between Lemieux and Tapia has the potential to be a spectacular, bloody fight. Both fighters love to stand their ground and launch haymakers. Lemieux managed to survive nearly eight rounds with Golovkin, repeatedly taking battering-ram jabs to the face while trying to get in his own shots.
If he wants to, he can bang away at Tapia with much greater success, to the delight of the fans at the T-Mobile Arena.
The 26-year-old Tapia has decent knockout power in his own right. Though he's the underdog, he believes he can surprise some folks on Saturday night, per RingTV's Andreas Hale:
"I know most of you guys have me losing this fight. I understand why because it looks bad on paper. But I know what I can bring to the table. I’m a different fighter who learned from those losses. I can’t wait to show you guys what I can do. People don’t remember what you say, they remember what you do.
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Like Lemieux, Tapia is coming off a knockout loss. Michel Soro victimized him with a fourth-round TKO nearly a year ago. He'll be supremely motivated to keep himself relevant with a good showing, if not a win, over Lemieux. If Tapia truly is game for a brawl, this could be the best fight of the evening.
The 24-year-old Gomez will take on his toughest opponent yet in Herrera, a veteran who has defeated the likes of Hank Lundy and Ruslan Provodnikov and taken the undefeated Danny Garcia the distance, only to lose a majority decision.
Both boxers' respective nicknames fit well with their preferred fighting styles. Gomez, aka Pitbull, has dogged determination and loves to stay on the front foot, while Herrera, whom you can call El Maestro, schools fighters by keeping them off balance and out of rhythm.
Bleacher Report's Briggs Seekins believes the younger, favored Gomez needs to stick to his usual fight plan:
"Gomez has been able to physically swarm and overwhelm past opponents. He's also the stronger, better athlete than Mauricio Herrera, but the veteran is a shrewd fighter.
Gomez should fight with his traditional, aggressive style, but he needs to step in with his attacks, rather than simply lunging. I'd like to see him come in behind straight punches, before throwing his wide shots on the inside.
Gomez needs to invest heavily in his body attack in the early rounds, in order to slow Herrera's movement.
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Despite being such an aggressive boxer, Gomez doesn't have a particularly great knockout record, with 13 KOs from 20 fights. His last three bouts have all gone the distance. Gomez will have to be on top of his game for the duration of the fight, as Herrera can absolutely steal a few rounds behind a solid jab.
Don't let the respective win-loss records fool you. This bout is a good bet to go 12 rounds and force some tough decisions on the judges.
Like Gomez, Teixeira is an undefeated prospect looking to score a victory against a name opponent in Stevens. Teixeira has a fantastic 22 knockouts from 26 professional bouts, the sign of a boxer who is clearly a cut above the club fighters he's taken on so far.
In the biggest fights of his career, Stevens has mostly come up empty.
He's coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam in October 2014—a long gap to be sure, though he has participated in the gimmicky Big Knockout Boxing in the interim—and has fallen short against the likes of Jesse Brinkley, Andre Dirrell and Golovkin.
Despite the losses, Stevens is hoping his experience can win out against Teixeira.
"Yes, I have been in there with different styles of guys, tougher opponents," he told BoxingScene.com's Ryan Burton. "This is boxing in general. We have yet to see what he brings to the table within a fight, did he change something on his style? I have been in with better fighters but not taking anything away from him—I still have a job to do."
Stevens also told Burton, "It is nothing new to me to be in there with a guy with a no-loss record."
Indeed, the Cerebral Assassin last knocked a prospect off his pedestal in April 2014, when he beat then-undefeated Tureano Johnson by fourth-round TKO. Stevens also scored a TKO win over Piotr Wilczewski in July 2009. Wilczewski was 22-0 at the time.
Teixeira is largely untested, but his southpaw stance and promising power could prove troublesome for Stevens. It's been a long time since he has been in a proper professional boxing match. The 25-year-old Brazilian could make a name for himself in the middleweight ranks with an impressive win on Saturday, but he may need more time.
While both fighters possess knockout power, Teixeira's promise and Stevens' experience will neutralize each other and lead this fight to go the distance.
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