It’s been a busy week in the boxing world filled with stories that run the gamet of emotions. Anger from fans voicing their disgust with the GGG vs Canelo decision. Sadness due to the unfortunate passing of the lengendary Jake LaMotta. Shock at the sudden retirement of pound for pound number 1 figther Andre Ward. It’s been a lot to process, but somehow I’ve managed to gather my emotions and look forward to the busy weekend of fights ahead. We have 3 main events on the schedule which are Jorge Linares vs. Luke Campbell, Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury, and Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov. As a bonus I’ll break down the money lines on these fights and tell you how I would bet them.
Linares vs. Campbell
The first bout we’ll take a look at is Jorge Linares (42-3-0) vs Luke Campbell (17-1-0) for Linares’ WBA Lightweight belt. This will be the first title fight for the 2012 Olympic gold medal winner Campbell. Linares on the other hand, fought for and won his first title over 10 years ago. Despite this discrepancy in professional experience, Linares is only two years older than his opponent who turned pro very late in his career.
Linares is an entertaining fighter who throws some of the most impressive flurries in all of boxing. Sharp combos of 5 punches or more are common when the talented Venezuelan steps into the ring. He has incredible hand speed and natural ability, but his critics will point to Linares’ chin when highlighting his weaknesses. He has been knocked down numerous times throughout his career and all 3 of his losses have come by stoppage. That being said, he’s riding an 11 fight winning streak and hasn’t lost a bout in over 5 years.
Luke Campbell is a tall lengthy southpaw who has both solid power and fundamentals. He measures opponents with a stiff jab before dropping well timed power shots which have resulted in 14 KO’s in his 17 victories. One thing I really like about Campbell is his willingness to work the body. He will hurt opponents and then put them away by choosing his shots wisely, mixing it up between the head and the midsection.
Gambling Outlook: Linares is a relatively heavy favorite in this fight coming in at -340 last I checked. A lot of people are giving Campbell a chance in this one hoping that he can connect on the questionable chin of Linares and stop the long time champ. Both men have been knocked down in the past so I wouldn’t be suprised to see either go down at some point during this bout. To me the hand speed and experience of Linares will be the difference. Campbell has only fought 96 professional rounds to Linares’ 268. He has never been in the ring with an opponent of this caliber and I believe the jump in talent will be too much for him. I’d take Linares -340 and if you want to hedge the bet a little throw a couple bucks on Campbell by stoppage at +430 as well.
Parker vs. Fury
The second fight on the docket is between undefeated heavyweights Jospeh Parker (23-0) and Hughie Fury (20-0) for Parker’s WBO heavyweight title. This bout was originally supposed to take place on May 6th this year but Fury was forced to pull out citing a back injury. This will be the toughest challenge either man has faced in their professional careers. For Hughie, this is a chance to break out of the shadow of his infamous cousin and former heavyweight champ, Tyson Fury. For Parker this is his opportunity to prove that his name belongs in the conversation with Joshua, Wilder, and Ortiz.
Parker is a talented and athletic fighter who puts together solid combinations for a heavyweight. He is 6’4″, 245 lbs and currently holds a 23-0 record with 18 KO’s to go along with the WBO title. You have to respect Parker for holding a heavyweight belt at the age 25 considering how difficult an accomplishment that has been over the past decade. This is by far Parker’s toughest test since facing off against Andy Ruiz in a close fight that Parker won by majority decision.
Hughie Fury is the 23 year old cousin of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. He turned pro back in 2013 and has won 20 straight fights since doing so. Standing at 6’6″, Fury uses his long jab and awkward movement to keep opponents at bay. He is an agile and talented boxer but lacks power which is evident by his record of only 10 KO’s in 20 victories.
Gambling Outlook: Both men are athletic heavyweights who might have difficulty landing clean shots on each other. I think Parker needs to work his way inside the jab of Fury and get this fight at closer quarters. If it remains at a comfortable distance for Fury, I think he will be able to outbox Parker for the majority of most rounds and win on the scorecards. If Parker can get on the inside he should be able to have success. That’s easier said than done against Fury who is an elusive heavyweight that throws well timed shots as you try to close the gap. I’m taking the slight underdog Fury at +130 to take the victory most likely by decision.
Dorticos vs. Kudryashov
The last bout I’ll cover is the second quarterfinal bout in the Cruiserweight division of the World Boxing Super Series tournament. It features 2 heavy hitters who have a combined record of 42-1-0 with 41 KO’s. Undefeated Yunier Dorticos (21-0-0 20 KO’s) will be taking on Dmitry Kudryashov (21-1-0 21 KO’s) in what should be a guarenteed slugfest. They will be fighting for the WBA belt as well as the opportunity to move on in this tournament and claim Cruiserweight supremacy. I honestly don’t think we even need judges present for this matchup since there is no way this goes to the scorecards barring a stoppage due to a cut. I won’t delve too deep into the individual fighters here but I definitely recommend tuning in for this one.
Gambling Outlook: I’ll keep this short and sweet. The under for rounds in this fight is set at 5 1/2. While that sounds extremely low, these two men have only had 4 combined fights last past the 5th round in their careers. If I was a betting man, which I am, I’m taking the under. This almost feels like too much of a lock but I’m going to roll with my instincts that this fight will be short lived.
So there you have it folks. A brief rundown of tonights biggest fight along with my gambling advice. I suggest you follow it because like Matthew McConaughey in Two for the Money all I do is work out and pick winners.
Enjoy the fights.
