One of the boxing bouts of the year takes place this weekend when Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders clash in Texas.
The pair collide in a Super-Middleweight unification battle in front of 70,000 fans, which will be the biggest attendance at a US sporting event since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Canelo is seen by many as boxing's pound-for-pound king, having suffered just one defeat from his 55 professional bouts.
But Saunders is undefeated as a pro and is extremely confident of victory over the Mexican.
Here's everything you need to know about the fight:
Where and when is it?
The bout takes place at the AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in the early hours of Sunday morning Irish time.
What time does it start at?
The main card starts at 1am Irish time, with Alvarez and Saunders expected in the ring around 4am for the main event.
What channel is it on?
The fight is being streamed live on DAZN, which you can subscribe to for €1.99 a month in Ireland.
You can also follow updates with The Irish Mirror's live blog here.
Full fight card
- Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders for Alvarez's WBC and WBA Super Middleweight titles and Saunders' WBO Super Middleweight title
- Elwin Soto vs. Katsunari Takayama for Soto's WBO Junior Flyweight title
- Kieron Conway vs. Souleymane Cissokho; Junior Middleweights
- Frank Sanchez vs. Nagy Aguilera; Heavyweights
- Marc Castro vs. Irving Macias Castillo; Junior Lightweights
- Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Antonio Meza; Lightweights
- Kelvin Davis vs. Jan Marsalek; Welterweights
- Christian Alan Gomez Duran vs. TBA; Welterweights
Quotes corner
Canelo Alvarez: “He’s a great fighter, he has a lot of ability and he’s a southpaw. I’m not the same fighter I was six or seven years ago, this Saturday I will show that.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of big fights and this is just another day at the office. I come to win, like I said boxing is my life and I come here to win.”
Billy Joe Saunders: "There’s no other reasons for me to be here apart from to win. Not about fame or anything else, I’m here to win. I don’t think we’ve had somebody come to win for a very long time.
“We’ve had a lot of people turn up, collect cheques and fly out but we haven’t had the heart, soul and IQ that I’ll bring to the ring on Saturday night to win.
“I can’t talk what he’s done down, he’s done brilliant things for boxing. He’s a good champion but there’s a time in life where you get tested, sometimes when you forget where you’ve come from, and forget all those hard things, that’s brought you to where you’re at.
“Sometimes that can make it difficult on yourself. I think he’s going to be bumping into the wrong man Saturday night to be going home with titles. I’m looking forward to a very good fight but most definitely the win.”
Eddie Hearn: “We will have 70,000 people in the AT&T Stadium on Saturday night - I am absolutely buzzing for this, I think this could be the best atmosphere we’ve ever seen.
“The numbers for this fight are tracking great, and I think that this is just great for everyone - the biggest live event since the pandemic struck, and boxing has done that. It just shows that when you get it right, we have a monstrous sport on our hands.
“Boxing is being showcased on Saturday. We can be as proud as peacocks on the night as everyone around the world will be watching, they will see the atmosphere and say ‘wow, this is boxing!’ People have to tune in to watch this atmosphere and product and say, ‘this is the place to be’. And everyone watching on Saturday will be in awe of it - the event, the fight, the ring walks, everything.
“I’m excited for Billy to be able to go out there and show what he’s said he’s always been able to do, and I am excited for Saul because the atmosphere for him is going to be incredible - so may the best man win.”
Betting odds
Canelo Alvarez: 1/6
Billy Joe Saunders: 9/2
Draw: 22/1
