IT'S #FIGHTNIGHT! ?

Mexican pride is on the line tonight in Las Vegas as @Canelo goes to war with @jcchavezjr1, live on BoxNation at 2am ?? pic.twitter.com/92rQziJcXP

— BoxNation (@boxnationtv) May 6, 2017

The pride of Mexico is on the line this weekend as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (48-1-1) fights fellow countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr (50-2-1) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

A fitting story for The Gambling Times, both fighters have bet their respective purses that they will win the fight.

The two boxers will be fighting at a catchweight of 164.5lbs with no official world title on the line, just the Adolfo Lopez Mateos belt which serves simply to commemorate those winners of the fights held on or around the celebrated Cinco de Mayo.

The momentous occasion will be starting at around 9pm local time, which is 2am British time, the main event expected around two hours later.

Despite the fact that the fight is being broadcast live on HBO in the US, British boxing fans can watch all the action too on BoxNation from 2am.

With national pride on the line, no doubt both boxers will leave everything in the ring, and who has the biggest heart could certainly come into play. The closer it gets, the more intriguing it becomes.

Thunder and Lightning happened 27 years ago in the very same City of Lights when Julio Cesar Chavez beat Meldrick Taylor in what was The Ring Magazine’s 1990’s Fight of the Year, and later Fight of the Decade, 10-years on when people were still hotly debating the conclusion which saw the American well ahead on the scorecards stopped with just two seconds remaining in the final round.

Now, a quarter of a decade on, it’s his son’s time to shine who is a typical Mexican-style fighter that relentlessly stalks opponents and dishes out punishment as well being able to take it as well.

A fit, on-form Chavez Jr. can be a whirlwind and a real handful for anyone but his punches don’t turn out the lights in one single blow, unlike Canelo’s – just ask Amir Khan.

Canelo, for me, is just that bit better in every department. He’s more powerful than Chavez, has the superior boxing skills, slicker, nimbler, more intelligent with better ring craft.

I predict a stoppage win to Canelo before the ninth-round.

TALE OF THE TAPE

We're on air at 2am from the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas ??

?? @Canelo v @jcchavezjr1 ??

LIVE on BoxNation ? pic.twitter.com/xYJU2bhM9f

— BoxNation (@boxnationtv) May 6, 2017

Odds

We spoke to Betfred’s boxing trader Mike Bell about the fight to get their views.

“Interest in this fight has definitely started to pick up since the Joshua fight concluded at the weekend, with quite a few large bets already being placed on Alvarez at 1/7,” he told TheGamblingTimes.com.

“As ever with Chavez his lifestyle outside of the ring and the doubts surrounding his professionalism there will always be question marks about what kind of shape he enters the ring at.

“If the rumours coming out of his training camp are true and Chavez is in tip top shape then he will have an outside chance due to the sheer size advantage he has over Alvarez who stands at  5’9 compared to 6’1.

“As for a pick this is a fight where you would need to wait for the weigh in to see if Chavez is in shape and to see how Alvarez looks going into a fight at the catch weight of 164.5lbs which will be just under 10lbs more than he’s ever weighed in at. Tentatively the pick is Alvarez by decision.”