Sunny Edwards Vs. Felix Alvarado: Odds, Records, Prediction

Sunny Edwards is a solid betting favorite to defend his flyweight title on Friday vs. Felix Alvarado. And his promoter Richard Schaefer isn’t at all surprised. In fact, he thinks Edwards is one of the most skillful fighters in the entire world. But despite the wide odds, Alvarado will get his own chance to weigh in on that opinion. Here’s everything you need to know about Sunny Edwards vs. Felix Alvarado, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

Edwards might be the best 112-pounder in the world, but then again, many people (including me and The Ring magazine and ESPN) would give that designation to Julio Cesar Martinez (though, to be fair, the Transnational Boxing Rankings puts Edwards ahead of Martinez).

In the mind of Schaefer, the CEO of Probellum, there’s no doubt who should be considered No. 1.

“His ability to slip punches is at the absolute highest level of any weight class, and from a skill point of view, I would rank Sunny Edwards today in the top five pound-for-pound. That’s how good he is,” said Schaefer, whose pound for pound view is far different than mine. “He has the skills and that will to win, and those qualities, combined with his confidence and his attitude, means he is a tough nut to crack.”

Though Edwards has said complimentary things about Alvarado and though it seems clear that Alvarado is probably Edwards’ toughest test yet, he can’t help but look ahead. He’s talked about wanting to move up a weight division and take on super flyweight titlist Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Edwards has also shown plenty of vitriol for Martinez, who went up to super flyweight briefly and got pummeled by Chocolatito Gonzalez before returning to 112 pounds.

That anger from Edwards stems from failed negotiations between him and Martinez that would have helped unify champions at flyweight. Instead, Martinez opted to take on his mandatory McWilliams Arroyo.

“Martinez is not a rival of mine, he’s a muppet,” Edwards said, via Boxing Scene. “I saw him as easy work, but I was trying to sell it as being my hardest fight to date . . . Whoever is advising Martinez has told him to stay a million miles away from Sunny Edwards. He has avoided me like the plague. And for me, Martinez is done in the division now.”

Alvarado wants to make his own mark at flyweight on Friday. He’s a former junior flyweight world titlist with an 83% KO percentage, and he hasn’t lost a fight in eight years. He’s not likely coming into the ring only for a paycheck. That’s not news to Edwards.

“I have grand plans to become the undisputed flyweight world champion, and then move through the weights, and I am totally confident that will happen,” Edwards said. “But there is no room for error against a fighter of Alvarado’s caliber, that’s for sure.”

Here’s more info on the Sunny Edwards vs. Felix Alvarado showdown that U.S. viewers can watch for free on Fite TV beginning at 2 pm ET on Friday.

Sunny Edwards vs. Felix Alvarado odds

Edwards is the solid betting favorite at -450 (bet $450 to win $100), but considering he was -500 earlier in the week, it appears more people are betting on Alvarado, who’s now +300 (win $300 on a $100 wager). I’d ignore the money lines, and go with Edwards to win by decision at -300 or Alvarado to win by stoppage at +450.

But honestly, I don’t see much value in wagering on Edwards to win. Unless he scores some kind of fluke knockout, the prices you’re getting on Edwards to win by decision or for the fight to go the distance are just too high.

Sunny Edwards vs. Felix Alvarado records

Though Edwards’ KO percentage of 22.2% is highly unimpressive for a world-class talent, his boxing skills obviously make up for it. He’s 18-0 with 4 KOs, and his biggest win probably came when he won his title by beating Moruti Mthalane in 2021. As Edwards said after that fight, “It might not be pretty all the time, it might not be exciting all the time, but I’m very, very hard to beat.”

Alvarado (38-2, 33 KOs) might actually be Edwards’ most accomplished opponent. He won a junior flyweight title in 2018 and defended it twice before moving up to 112 pounds. He lost to Kazuto Ioka, still considered one of the best lighter-weight fighters in the world, in 2013 and then came up short in his next fight against Juan Carlos Reveco in a world title fight. Alvarado hasn’t lost since then.

Sunny Edwards vs. Felix Alvarado prediction

Alvarado might have the power to hurt Edwards, but I don’t think he has the skill to track him down and consistently land those heavy shots. I think Edwards will use his technicality and out-box Alvarado. Say, Edwards by decision, somewhere in the 118-110 range.