Boxing trainer Freddie Roach believes that Jermell Charlo is the favourite up against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
For many observers, the Mexican remains the likely winner. Charlo has never fought at super middleweight and traditionally operates at light middleweight, which is 14lbs lighter than Canelo’s current upper limit.
The pair fight this Saturday as Canelo makes his second appearance of 2023, and Charlo fights for the first time this year.
Canelo is also the undisputed champion in the division and while his most recent appearances, against Dmitry Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder have not been his best performances, he is still regarded as one of the best in the game.
Charlo is undisputed at 154lbs but is in uncharted territory. However, speaking to BoxingScene.com, Roach said that Charlo is now the boxer that he is backing to succeed when the match goes ahead this weekend.
“This is all about Charlo,” he said.
“I am really impressed with where Charlo is right now. I originally went with Canelo, but then I looked at video of the last two or three fights for each guy and I was very impressed with what I saw from Charlo and did a 180 on my selection.”