Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (birth name Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán) of Guadalajara, Mexico, who has won world belts from welterweight to light heavyweight, hopes to add the WBA light heavyweight belt to his collection when he challenges champion Dmitri Bivol (Nowar) of Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tonight.
The 31-year-old Alvarez (57-1-2; 39) possibly needs a warehouse to store all the belts he has won since making his pro debut on 29 October 2005.
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He currently holds the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super-middleweight belts and he now fights in the light heavyweight class for the second time after having won the WBO light heavyweight belt three years ago when he stopped Sergay Kovalov.
Bivol, 31, who fights out of Indio, California and has a record of 19-0; 11, first held the interim WBA light heavyweight belt before winning eight fights for the full WBA belt.
He is a disciplined and controlled fighter who picks his shots, with fast hands and reasonable power, having 11 inside-the-distance wins on his record.
Alvarez is the far more experienced fighter, having fought as a professional since 29 October 2005.
He is a good body puncher as he slowly walks down his opponents.
There are oddsmakers who have Alvarez at minus 475 and Bivol at plus 350.
Bivol has advantages in height and reach but is far behind in experience and in the number of rounds in the professional ring, with Alvarez at 436 and Bivol at 148.
Alvarez has fought at a much higher level and the odds are that he will win on a unanimous points decision over 12 rounds.
