Mexico and boxing go together hand-in-hand and on the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, one of the nation's biggest holidays, two of its best known fighters converge on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for an all-Mexican showdown.
The bout between Guadalajara's Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, the son of Mexico's greatest ever fighter, will take place at a catchweight of 164.5 lbs and airs live on BoxNation (UK) and HBO PPV over in the States.
Since his pro debut as a baby-faced 15 year-old all the way back in 2005, Canelo has risen to prominence as one of the pound-for-pound best boxers around.
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Amassing a 48-1-1 (34) record in his 12 years in the paid ranks, Canelo has built a considerable CV with wins over tricky opposition like Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland and the great Miguel Cotto.
His only defeat came in a one-sided points loss to Floyd Mayweather, to which there is no shame.
More recently, Canelo's opposition has been called in to question, especially as it coincides with rise in popularity of Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin, who would provide the Mexican with his biggest (and most financially fruitful) fight in the current boxing landscape.
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Underwhelming match-ups and subsequent wins against an under-sized Amir Khan and an outclassed Liam Smith did very little to ease his critics.
Canelo will be thankful that however bad his detractors may be, they're not as bad as Chavez Jr's...
Being the son of one of the sport's greatest ever competitors has been both a gift and a curse for the 31-year-old, whose record stands at 50-2-1 (32).
There's little doubt that carrying that surname has enabled Chavez Jr to climb through the paid ranks at a faster pace than any other Joe Bloggs and therefore helped him reach those bigger pay days.
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Unfortunately, he's yet to live up to his father's reputation as a fighter, despite clearly possessing considerable talent, and he is often labelled little more than a fraud and a product of nepotism.
On occasion, Chavez Jr has done little to help his image though. Missing weight on several occasions, testing positive for traces of marijuana and questions over his commitment in his last few fights have hardly helped warm him to fight fans.
The appointment of Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain looks like a step in the right direction for Chavez Jr, the Hall of Famer and former Juan Manuel Marquez trainer will certainly get the most from his fighter in the build-up.
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Unsurprisingly, Canelo goes in to this fight as the favourite at 1/9 with Chavez Jr. priced up at 5/1 to triumph in Vegas.
Canelo's movement can look stiff and he isn't always the fastest mover but to his credit he's accurate and carries terrifying power in his hands when he lands.
He's also at his best against brawlers, a style of fighting most would associate Chavez Jr with. Canelo was at his destructive best against slow moving opponents like Liam Smith and Alfredo Angulo.
Chavez Jr's tendency to come forward could be his undoing and we expect Canelo to end proceedings in the mid to latter rounds. BetVictor are offering Canelo to win via KO at evens which seems like an exceedingly generous price.
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The 5/1 on offer from the same bookmaker on Canelo to finish the fight between rounds 7 and 9 also looks mighty tempting.
Recommended bets:
Canelo to win via KO, TKO or disqualification - 1/1 BetVictor
Canelo to win between rounds 7 & 9 - 5/1 BetVictor
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