Golovkin vs. Canelo 2 Betting Preview: Odds, Trends, Fight Card Analysis

The first meeting between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-2) and unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (38-0-1) took place in Las Vegas nearly a year ago to the day and resulted in a controversial draw that many thought the latter won.

However, Alvarez and Golovkin will both have the chance to prove they deserve the belts this Saturday night in what could be an epic rematch, again at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. Golovkin is listed as a solid -155 favorite (bet $155 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark, up slightly from the first fight that saw him at -145 on the boxing odds.

Alvarez is a +125 underdog (bet $100 to win $125) on the GGG vs. Canelo odds this time around and nearly lost his opportunity for a rematch due to a failed drug test that led to a six-month suspension. He tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol and has not fought since that championship bout.

Golovkin scored a second-round knockout of Vanes Martirosyan on May 5 in his only action inside the ring since then to retain his titles.

Neither fighter wants this rematch to go to the judges again, although the odds of another decision happening seems more than likely. The 28-year-old Canelo's lone loss of his career came via majority decision to Floyd Mayweather five years ago, and 34 of his 49 wins have come by KO.

Meanwhile, Golovkin is six years older and has knocked out 34 of his 39 opponents, but two of his last three bouts have gone to the scorecards.

Adalaide Byrd is the judge who scored the last fight to Canelo by a surprisingly lopsided margin of 118-110, allowing the draw to happen. The other two judges had it 114-114 and 115-113 in favor of Golovkin, who let his opponent back into the bout in the later rounds.

The strategy for Golovkin should be to finish stronger so that there are no doubts in the judges' minds. With regards to the total, over 9.5 rounds is favored strongly at -350 compared to the under at +230. Both men are also +185 to win via decision or technical decision, and the price on the fight going the distance is -250.

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