Boxing

Sean said:

Saturday 1st June -

Deontay Wilder v Zhilei Zhang
A fight that has the potential to go either way if im being honest , neither fighter comes into the bout in great form .. Wilder (47 Fights - 43 Wins (42 KOs) - 2 Losses - 1 Draw) has lost three of his last four fights , lost the last two of the Fury trilogy , then knocked out Robert Helenius in spectacular fashion in the first round then lost a one sided fight by decision to Joseph Parker whilst Zhang (29 Fights - 26 Wins (21 KOs) - 2 Losses - 1 Draw) lost a contraversial decision to Hgrovic (which i personally think he won) , then looked good in absolutely destroying the Juggernaut Joe Joyce twice before losing to Joe Parker last time .. so both have a bit to prove and i think that this could possibly be the last hurrah for one of them. This is a hard one call tbh , Wilder has the punch that can end a fight in the blinking of an eye but if he comes into the fight and performs as he did against Parker then i cant see him going the distance against someone who hits as hard as Zhang , let alone winning the fight. BUT on the other hand if Zhang doesnt manage to stop Wilder early , say before round 6/7 , i can see him tiring , he does have a tendency to gas out around the middle rounds , and this would give Wilder a chance to land one of his haymakers on him. Its all a bit of a conundrum i reckon. Zhang , although slow , is definatley the better boxer and has a higher boxing IQ but as i said earlier if Wilder is back to his usual self for this one hes gonna be ramped up and looking to land that right hand. Zhang has a pretty decent defence whereas Wilder not so much , i see the early rounds going the way of Zhang , outboxing Wilder and maybe catching him a few times , can he take the power of Zhang ? Im not sure , hes heavy handed and hits a lot harder than Fury who dropped Wilder a few times , but then can Zhang take a Wilder right hander ? God knows , if he catches him clean with it i would say its probably game over. Hard one to weigh as it all depends on Wilders attitude / demeanour etc .. if its the old Wilder then i can see him winning later on , if it isnt then i see him getting stopped. An added incentive for Wilder is that he/people want to see him fight AJ and if he loses to Zhang now then i think that bout is gonna get binned off , so its pretty much a must win for him whilst Zhang is getting old and he isnt gonna get many more chances at the top i dont think .. As i say im having difficulty calling this one but im gonna go with Zhang to win , mainly cos hes the better boxer and i like him more than i do Wilder lol .. But if hes back to his old self then Wilder definatley has a shout .. If i were to bet in this i would probably go with the fight to end by round 10 by a stoppage , either fighter. But for the purpose of this thread im gonna side with Zhang.

Zhilei Zhang To Win

Daniel Dubois v Filip Hgrovic
Quite looking forward to this one as weren't expecting it , sort of come out of left field , tough one to call though to be honest. Dubois (22 Fights - 20 Wins (19 KOs) - 2 Losses) comes into this after stopping Jarrell Miller in the very last round last time , back in December of last year , and though Miller looked out of condition he fought okay tbh and Dubois handed him his first pro loss , after the Joyce loss people were writing Dubois off but he's come back and knuckled down and got stuck in , he racked up four victories before losing to Uysk , but there was no shame in that one lets be honest .. hes fought whose in front of him , hasnt ducked anyone so fair play to the lad. Hgrovic (17 Fights - 17 Wins (14 KOs)) is , as yet , unbeaten but personally i think he lost the Zhang fight , he beat Mark De Mori last time (same card as Dubois beat Miller) stopping him in the first round but in all honesty , that couldnt of been anything other than a stop gap fight as Hgrovic is levels above De Mori imho. Before that he stopped the well touted Aussie Demsey McKean in the twelfth and final round , a solid enough effort but as someone whose ranked so highly you'd be expecting him to win these fights. For someone ranked so highly theres not many 'names' on his resume , the best would be Zhang by a country mile , whereas Dubois has Uysk , Joyce , and Miller could be thrown in there as well , so resume wise , for me , he edges it i think. Its a close one , as i say despite being so highly ranked Hgrovic hasnt yet proven himself to be champion material but winning this would be a statement of intent , Dubois on the other hand seems to be learning and getting better as he goes along , Hgrovic seems to be a bit robotic and hes a notoriously slow starter and im not 100% about his stamina so if Dubois is out of the blocks quickly , like he was against Uysk , then i think he has a good chance of maybe catching him early , and theres no doubts about his stamina either .. the one thing that is in Hgrovic's favour is his mentality , he seems to be alot mentally stronger than Dubois , so when the going gets tough he keeps going .. boxing wise i dont think theres much in it to be honest , both can bang as well but i would rate Dubois as the harder puncher and Hgrovic is certainly gonna have his chin tested in this one i would think , as is Dubois. As i say its a tough one to call , and both are capable of winning it i think , bookies odds currently favour Hgrovic as do most people which is fair i suppose but i dont think people should be writing Dubois off so quickly , apparently the winner could be looking at a huge fight at Wembley against Anthony Joshua so theres no doubt in my mind that both will be going for it. I have to side with Daniel Dubois , its entirely possible that Hgrovic wins but if Dubois can start quickly strongly i think he has a serious chance of taking this , and if he can remain resilient and mentally strong in the patchier times hopefully he can come through and get another win on his resume.

Daniel Dubois To Win

Hamzah Sheeraz v Austin Williams
Another quality fight thats very much a 50/50 affair in my opinion , Williams (16 Fights - 16 Wins (11 KOs)) is definatley an up n coming fighter whose looked good so far and he has the tools to test Sheeraz and he certainly has the power to test his chin which has yet to have a real test. Sheeraz' best quality is his destructive power and hes going to certainly test Williams resolution. Williams has the better resume and for me is probably the better boxer but Sheeraz is getting better with each fight , and his last time out first round TKO of Liam Williams shocked alot of people given hes a tough nut to crack. This is a cracking fight for two of the most exciting Middleweight prospects out there , and to have it early (ish) in their careers is good , as theres always a chance that theres a repeat , maybe , later down the line. Eddie Hearn has said that whoever wins this will get a shot at a title fight so its a given that both fighters are gonna be giving it their all. I think both need a few more fights under their belts before challenging for titles tbh , Sheeraz has a decent height advantage over his opponent and i can see him utilizing that , and i can see him coming out and trying to get Williams out of there as soon as possible but if he doesnt manage that then theres a chance Williams can start to gain the upper hand as Sheeraz can get sloppy at times and Williams will be all over him if he makes any mistakes. Hard one to call i have to say but from what i've seen of them i think Sheeraz can get the job done.

Hamzah Sheeraz To Win

Raymond Ford v Nick Ball
And another cracking fight , quite looking forward to this one as well , unbeaten Ford (16 Fights - 15 Wins (8 KOs) - 1 Draw) makes the first defence of his WBA Featherweight title , which he won when he stopped Otabek Kholmatov last time in the final round despite losing the fight upto that moment , whereas Ball (20 Fights - 19 Fights (11 KOs) - 1 Draw) comes into this on the back of what can only be described as a travesty of a decision when he drew with Rey Vargas .. Its a difficult one to call as Ball is relentless , forever coming forward and throwing , he never gives up and Ford will have to be at the top of his game to deal with with his opponent. He is slick and technically better than Ball i think and he picks his shots well , and will probably handle Ball better than alot of his previous opponents. Its a genuinely hard one to call , i like Ball and i like his style , but i feel that Ford is gonna outbox him , however as he throws so many bombs theres always a chance that Ball could catch him and because of his relentless style you couldnt honestly write his chances off at any time in the fight. I like Ball and i would really like to see him win it but i feel that Ford is gonna have too much about him and that he'll take the fight and keep his belt , probably by decision.

Raymond Ford To Win

Dmitry Bivol v Malik Zinad
Well due to Artur Beterbiev being forced to pull out of his scheduled undisputed bout , Bivol (22 Fights - 22 Wins (11 KOs)) now faces Malik Zinad (22 Fights - 22 Wins (16 KOs)) for his WBA Light Heavyweight Title , obviously we're all disappointed at the fact the undisputed aint going ahead but injuries happen and at least Bivol is facing someone rather than just giving the date a miss. However it has to be said that he could of faced someone a tad more worthy than Zinad , who , will all respect , hasnt faced anyone off or even near Bivols level before. He may be unbeaten but taking into context with the opposition hes faced to date that dont mean much when faced with an elite fighter like Bivol. Fair play to Bivol for keeping the date and also to Zinad for stepping up but unless something goes mightily wrong i can only see a Bivol shut out in this.

Dmitry Bivol To Win

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Topdog said:

Looked at the Ford v Ball Featherweight and have bet the Under 10.5 rounds @ 21-10 with Boylesports

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Sean said:

Saturday 15th June -

Gervonta Davis v Frank Martin
Interesting bout between two unbeaten fighters and has all the hallmarks to be a potential banger .. Davis (29 Fights - 29 Wins (27 KOs)) was last seen stopping Ryan Garcia in the seventh round back in April of 2023 , that was a solid taking apart of Garcia tbh , whilst Martin (18 Fights - 18 Wins (12 KOs) handed the decent Artem Harutyunyan his first loss when beating him by unanimous decision. Both the same age , but Davis has had more fights and imho against better opposition. Martin is a decent boxer and will enjoy a height and reach advantage , and hes quick , light on his feet and strong , he tends to fight on the inside , thats where his strengths seem to lie , and i can see him enjoying early success until Davis starts to figure him out and then he'll start to break him down. Davis has a good ring IQ and although Martin is a solid fighter i can see only one outcome here , and thats a Davis win , it could go to the cards but id be more tempted to go with a stoppage in the later rounds.

Gervonta Davis To Win .. By Stoppage (After Round 6)

Subriel Matias v Liam Paro
Looking forward to this one i have to say as both will come to fight and theres a high probability of a stoppage in this one given the way the pair fight , Puerto Rican Matias (21 Fights - 20 Wins (20 KOs) - 1 Loss) defends his IBF Junior Welterweight Title against Aussie Paro (24 Fights - 24 Wins (15 KOs)) and like i've already said it has all the hallmarks of a banging fight. Paro has held the WBO Global Junior Welterweight Title since its inaugration back in 2019 , and last time out despatched Montana Love in the sixth round by way of KO. Matias made his first defence of his title last time when he stopped the previously unbeaten Shohjahon Ergashev when he retired in the sixth round. He won the title by beating Jeremias Ponce , the only time hes been beaten was back in 2020 when he lost by unanimous decision to Russian Petros Ananyan , that was a bit of a shock result to be honest but he took it on the chin and three fights later he rectified that by stopping Ananyan in the ninth round. Paro will probably be the underdog here but hes definatley a live wire imho , hes a decent enough boxer and carries decent power in his shots and will certainly test Matias , although his chin seems sturdy enough as he's been with some big hitters in his career to date. The power that Matias carries is immense or seems to be to me anyway , hes took the '0' from some decent fighters .. Jeremias Ponce , Ergashev , Malik Hawkins and the unfortunate Maxim Dadashev , who Matias stopped in the 11th round and later died from a severe brain injury. Both have good boxing fundamentals , both can hit , but i would like to see Matias work on his defence more , he does get hit , and hit hard sometimes and thats always a worry i have to say. I think Paro will start well and it'll be an exciting fight , but in the end i think Matias comes out on top.

Subriel Matias To Win

David Benevidez v Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Looking forward to watching Benevidez' first fight as a light heavyweight , hes always been big for his previous weight i thought so should be able to take this step up in his stride i hope. Benevidez (28 Fights - 28 Wins (24 KOs)) comes into the fight unbeaten , retiring Demetrius Andrade in the sixth round last time , back in November 2023 , and i (along with a lot of others) was hoping he'd be fighting Canelo but that never transpired so hes made the leap to light heavy , and he faces Ukranian Gvozdyk (21 Fights - 20 Wins (16 KOs) - 1 Loss) he stopped Isaac Rodriquez in his last fight by second round TKO , his only loss came when he was stopped by the fearsome Artur Beterbiev in the tenth round , so if thats the only loss on your record , you're not doing too badly. Hes a good solid boxer and should put up a decent test for Benevidez for his first fight in the weight category , but i do feel he wont be facing the Gvozdyk of old , i think pre Beterbiev Gvozdyk would of given him something to think about but since that fight , for me , he hasnt looked the same fighter even though he won all three fights last year with the Bolotniks win being the best of them probably. Benevidez is younger (ten years) and hungrier and a volume puncher whose aggressive , and slightly reminscent of Beterbievs style in that hes in your face , relentless and Gvozdyk had no answer to Beterbievs style. I see Gvozdyk holding his own for a while and maybe catching Benevidez as his defence isnt the best i have to say but in the end i think the relentless style will wear Gvozdyk down and Benevidez will take the win , i think a mid to late stoppage is possible but a decision win wouldnt surprise me as Gvozdyk wont go down without a fight.

David Benevidez To Win

Ben Whittaker v Ezra Arenyeka
Quite looking forward to this as it could be an interesting bout tbh , Whittaker (7 Fights - 7 Wins (5 KOs)) takes on Nigerian Ezra Arenyeka (12 Fights - 12 Wins (10 KOs)) for the vacant WBA Gold World Light heavy Weight strap , and it has the potential to be a decent fight imho. Whittaker beat Leon Willings last time by unanimous decision and before that stopped Khalid Graidia in the fifth round , hes a very talented young fighter and has the potential to go far but hes gonna have to stop with the shenanigans and showboating , entertaining though it is for most of the public its eventually gonna cost him when he gets tagged by someone whilst p*ssing about , and that person could be Arenyeka , to be honest i dont know alot about him , except looking at his record he can bang , he hasnt met anyone of note as of yet looking at his record , but then neither has Whittaker if im being honest (as its early days for both lets be fair) although his resume is slightly better , having watched a couple of Arenyekas' fights id say that skill wise Whittaker looks to be levels above Arenyeka imho , he has a height and reach advantage , and he'll be using that to get on top during the fight i'm sure and i can see him outboxing Arenyeka here , as i said he looks to have some power but how good were his opponents ? has to be asked , probably not on Whittakers level i'd say but best that Whittaker avoids getting tagged if he can. I think Whittaker walks away with the vacant title in this one. Chance he could pull of a stoppage , but i havent seen enough of Arenyeka to know what his chins like tbh so i'll just stick with the Whittaker win,

Ben Whittaker To Win

Chris Billam Smith v Richard Riakporhe
Looking forward to these pair re running their 2019 encounter , where Riakporhe (17 Fights - 17 Wins (13 KOs)) beat Billam Smith (20 Fights - 19 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Loss) by split decision and handed BS his first loss. Billam Smith is defending his WBO Cruiserweight Title that he took from Lawrence Okolie when he beat him back in May of 2023 , he then defended the title last time against Pole Mateusz Masternak , who he beat when Masternak retired in the eighth round. Riakporhe hasnt been seen since stopping Dylan Bregeon in the second round back in November of last year , that was his fifth stoppage in a row and i think that he'll be looking to continue that run here. I like both boxers , and both are more than capable of walking away the victor here , Billam Smith looked pretty poor last time imho , he took quite a few unneccesary shots and he cant afford to do that against someone like Riakporhe , he does have the ability to turn a fight around and is usually consistent through the rounds which helps but he really has to dodge some of the power shots especially against someone who can hit as hard as Riakporhe. Tough one to call tbh , but i think this one goes the same way as the first fight with Riakporhe getting his hand raised .

Richard Riakporhe To Win

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Sean said:

Friday 21st June - Lyndon Arthur v Liam Cameron

Interesting domestic dust up this one , Liam Cameron (29 Fights - 23 Wins (10 KOs) - 5 Losses - 1 No Contest) is on the comeback trail and its good to see him back in all honesty although i think that maybe Lyndon Arthur (25 Fights - 23 Wins (16 KOs) - 2 Losses) may prove to be a step too far for him. Cameron fought Nicky Jenman for the Commonwealth Middleweight Title back in April of 2018 , stopping him in the second round , but that was later declared a no contest after he tested positive for a banned substance (cocaine in his urine) and he was subsequently found guilty and banned for four years (hes always denied this and could have got a 16 month ban if he'd pled guilty , which he wouldnt do) , he started drinking and also suffered the loss of his daughter in a road accident which led him to struggling with depression etc .. so he hasnt had it easy at all , and decided to make a comeback in her memory . He had a fight in 2023 , Robbie Connor , who he beat on points and this year hes had two fights , Harry Matthews and Hussein Itaba , both of whom he stopped in the first round. Arthur is gonna be a whole different proposition , he is levels above Camerons' recent opposition , and i think he may well struggle here after the opening few rounds. Hes heavy handed , tough and tenacious but i dont think thats gonna be enough to see him through , Arthur has only lost two in his career , first time against Anthony Yarde and then in his last fight he lost by unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol , although he was outclassed/outboxed in that fight he did hold his own and had his moments in the fight , and a repeat of that would easily see him through this i would of thought. Cameron will probably start quickly and try to get Arthur out of there , but Arthur doesnt mind fighting off the backfoot , indeed hes well known for it , and he'll use his jab to good effect , and he'll wait until the times right to introduce his right hand. He can be caught though , and the question is can he take Camerons' best shot ? and my answer would be probably , but i wouldnt bet my house on it lol .. as i said at the start i think this is an interesting match up and i think it'll be fairly even in the first few rounds , back and forth , with Cameron probably the stronger but as the fight goes on i think Arthur will begin to come out on top , with Cameron possibly tiring , and i see Arthur winning this one , either by points or by a mid to late round stoppage (although given the back story i wouldnt be upset if Cameron cam out the winner i have to say) and its on Channel 5 tonight so no excuses not to watch it !

Lyndon Arthur To Win

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Topdog said:

Any interest Sean in the Isley /Martinez fight at the weekend?

Have bet the Under 8.5 rounds @ 7-2 with Bet Victor

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Sean said:

Saturday 29th June -

Juan Francisco Estrada v Jesse Rodriguez
Another fight worth watching , getting spoiled lately ! Estrada (47 Fights - 44 Wins (28 KOs) - 3 Losses) meets the unbeaten and very talented 'Bam' Rodriguez (19 Fights - 19 Wins (12 KOs)). Estrada beat 'Choclatito' Roman Gonzalez last time retaining The Ring Super Flyweight Title and winning the vacant WBC Super Flyweight Belt , that was a decent trilogy of fights between the pair with it ending 2-1 to Estrada after that last time MD win. Whereas Rodriguez stopped British fighter Sunny Edwards who retired in the ninth round , keeping his WBO Flyweight title , and winning Edwards' IBF version. Estrada is a household name and deservedly so but i think he is gonna have his hands full trying to hand Rodriguez his first loss , theres a ten year age gap between the two which i think will be telling , and at 24 Rodriguez looks all set to be one of the headliners for sometime to come imho as already his resume is looking good and with Estradas scalp added to it , it will only look better and for me will be a P4P fighter in the not to distant.

Jesse Rodriguez To Win

Teofimo Lopez v Steve Claggett
Teofimo Lopez (21 Fights - 20 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Loss) puts his belts on the line when he meets Canadian challenger Steve Claggett (47 Fights - 38 Wins (26 KOs) - 7 Losses - 1 Draw) , Lopez arrives looking for his fifth straight victory .. Pedro Campa , Sandor Martin , Josh Taylor and Jermaine Ortiz ... after his shock loss to George Kambosos Jr back in 2021 , and in all honesty i think he should retain his titles here. Claggett is game and tough and hasnt lost since his split decision loss to Mathieu Germain back in may of 2021 , thats a 9 fight winning streak , but this is a step up for the Canadian and i think Lopez is levels above Claggett in all honesty. Although sometimes Lopez does lose focus on the job in hand so i wouldnt completely write Claggetts' chances off but i just cant see it personally. I see Lopez putting on a dominant display and retaining his belts.

Teofimo Lopez To Win

Sunny Edwards v Adrian Curiel
Intriguing match up this one to be honest , with both boxers coming in on the back of losses and looking to redeem themselves .. Edwards (21 Fights - 20 Wins (4 KOs) - 1 Loss) was stopped by the hard hitting Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez last time , retiring in the ninth round , who incidentally fights in the main bout on the card , that was Edwards sole loss to date and he lost nothing in that defeat to Bam , whilst Curiel (30 Fights - 24 Wins (5 KOs) - 1 Draw) lost to the decent South African Sivenathi Nontshinga , this was after he stopped Nontshinga back in November of last year ... this will be his first fight at Super Flyweight , and for me , i think its a big ask for him to be taking on the ex champion in Edwards altho thats not to say he cant win , hes aggressive and fights on the front foot which leaves him open to counters and Edwards , being the technical boxer that he is should be able to seize on those openings , however as his record shows he doesnt carry stopping power which could be problematic here as Curiel wont stop coming forward. Hard one to weigh up in that we dont know how that first loss will affect Edwards mentality , it could spur him on or it could have completely the opposite effect so that side of things is a guessing game .. for me Edwards is much more the proficient boxer and i see him putting that loss behind him and taking the win , although i can see a few turbulent moments for him through the fight.

Sunny Edwards To Win ... By Decision

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