Strap yourselves in – there’s plenty more boxing to come this year
Published:
We’ve already been treated to some incredible boxing clashes this year, as Gennady Golovkin defeated Kell Brook and Canelo Alvarez brutally knocked out both Amir Khan and Liam Smith.
But just because the year is drawing to a close doesn’t mean the boxing world shuts down – quite the opposite, actually. There are three huge bouts still to come between now and the end of the year, starting with a WBO World Middleweight title fight in Scotland this weekend.
Billy Joe Saunders v Artur Akavov
It hasn’t been the best of years for British boxing, but BJ Saunders can restore some order by defeating 12/1 outsider Akavov on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old is unbeaten in his 23 previous bouts up to this point, and boasts an impressive 12 KOs to his name.
The challenger’s record isn’t too shabby, either, with just one the one defeat to speak of – that coming in 2012.
Superb is reportedly considering fighting Gennady Golovkin, and he’ll see this weekend’s bout as a perfect opportunity to prove himself worthy of stepping into the ring with Triple G in the near future.
Top Bet – Billy Joe Saunders to win by KO, TKO or Disqualification @ 4/7
Dillian Whyte v Dereck Chisora
Boy, are we looking forward to this one?!
This pair just can’t stand each other, so much so that we almost saw them sort out their differences earlier in November when filming their Gloves Are Off special.
They’ll meet on December 10, almost a year to the day where Whyte suffered the only loss of his professional career to Anthony Joshua.
He’s found some form since then though, beating Ivica Bacurin and David Allen by KO before a RTD ensured he defeated Ian Lewison.
And the Body Snatcher heads into this one as the 1/3 favourite, while Chisora is 12/5 to win the British Heavyweight title.
What a way to whet the appetite.
Top Bet – Dillian White to win @ 1/3
Anthony Joshua v Eric Molina
And the curtain closer on that night is between IBF World Heavyweight title holder Anthony Joshua and Drummer Boy, Eric Molina.
It’s AJ who’s the huge 1/25 favourite to win this one on home soil, while 10/1 says the American causes an upset.
Joshua has won all 17 of his previous bouts by KO, while Molina has been on the receiving end of a KO on three occasions in his professional career, most recently against Deontay Wilder in June of last year.
It’s 1/10 for Joshua to win by KO, so where does the value lie here?
Well, a quick look at AJ’s career stats will tell you that he’s faced 41 rounds in 17 previous bouts. That works out to roughly 2.4 rounds-per-bout.
We can see the 27-year-old getting the job done early here.
Top Bet – Anthony Joshua to win in rounds 1-3 @ 5/6
All Odds and Markets are now correct as of the date of publishing
