Our resident boxing expert Rob Tebbutt looks ahead to two huge world title fights taking place in the United States and Australia this weekend and reveals where he feels the betting value can be found.
Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza Tips
Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza Bet Boosts >>
Janibek Alimkhanuly v Vincenzo Gualtieri Tips
Janibek Alimkhanuly v Vincenzo Gualtieri Bet Boosts >>
Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza Tips
Down under in Queensland, Australia, we see Tim Tszyu's first defence of his WBO super-welterweight crown as he squares off against Brian Mendoza over 12 rounds.
Tszyu has done exceptionally well for himself so far in his fairly limited professional career. Of course, the son of the legendary Kostya Tszyu, Tim has had to deal with a lot of scrutiny, and he's taken it in his stride and over the last couple of years - turning into a serious force at 154 pounds.
He had that Brilliant win last time out against Tony Harrison - winning by stoppage - in a bout where many people had picked Harrison to upset the apple cart.
But Tszyu went about his business in merciless fashion and has now been elevated to the WBO's full champion status after Jemell Charlo vacated his belt after challenging Canelo Alvarez just a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas.
Brian Mendoza, of course, had that brilliant fight with Sebastian Fundora earlier on this year - a real back and forth war before knocking Fundora, spark out with a brilliant right hand, sending him crashing into the canvas.
He'll be going into this bout full of confidence, backed in his corner, of course, by the legendary Ismail Salas, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport, and they're going to have to cook up some sort of game plan if they are going to dethrone Tim Tszyu in front of his beloved Australian home support.
With that being said, for me, Tszyu is the big, big favourite in this fight and I do expect his size, his pressure, his fundamentals to grind down Mendoza, which leads me towards the price of 7/4 for a KO/TKO win between Rounds 7 - 12.
It's in that second half of the fight where we saw Tszyu stop Tony Harrison last time out, and typically the period of fights where we tend to see the Australian carry out a lot of his good work.
Tebbutt's Tip
Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza Bet Boosts >>
Bet Builder:
Fight Outcome: Tim Tszyu By KO, TKO or Disqualification
Under 9.5 Rounds
Was 10/11 >> Now 1/1
Round Betting:
Tim Tszyu to win in Round 10
Was 11/1 >> Now 12/1
Round Group Betting (1):
Tim Tszyu to win in Rounds 4 - 6
Was 9/2 >> Now 17/2
View all the latest odds and Bet Boosts for Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza
Janibek Alimkhanuly v Vincenzo Gualtieri Tips
Up next, in Texas, we have a middleweight unification bout as Janibek Alimkhanuly puts his WBO middleweight title on the line against IBF champion Vicenzo Gualtieri.
I think that Alimkhanuly may be one of the more underrated fighters in the sport - I don't think the middleweight division is as strong as it's been in recent years and I think that maybe he's become a victim of that.
But we know how good of a fighter he is. He was a supersonic amateur, winning gold at the World Amateur Championships, and they don't just give those medals away - you have to be able to box and Alimkhanuly has shown in a very short professional career so far that he can do just that.
He's very, very sharp early on as most amateurs are and that's why I'm leaning towards the Kazakhstan-born fighter to get the job done early against Gualtieri, who is a decent fighter in his own right.
This is a different level from any fight he has undertaken so far, and we have seen these top amateurs come out in the past and go straight through opponents who they don't believe is on the same level as them, and that could well be the case this weekend.
I am looking at Alimkhanuly between 'Rounds 1 and 6', which is priced up at 2/1, but I also like the look of the bigger odds of 9/2 for the fight to be over, in Aimkhanuly's favour, inside the first four rounds.
Tebbutt's Tip
- Janibek Alimkhanuly to win between Rounds 1 - 6 @ 2/1
- Janibek Alimkhanuly to win between Rounds 1 - 4 @ 9/2
Janibek Alimkhanuly v Vincenzo Gualtieri Bet Boosts
Bet Builder:
Fight Result: Vincenzo Gualtieri
Over 8.5 Rounds
Was 12/1 >> Now 14/1
Round Betting:
Janibek Alimkhanuly to win in Round 9
Was 9/1 >> Now 10/1
Round Group Betting (4):
Janibek Alimkhanuly to win in Rounds 7 - 12
Was 13/10 >> Now 6/4
View all the latest odds and Bet Boosts for Janibek Alimkhanuly v Vincenzo Gualtieri
Odds and Bet Boosts >> within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation or withdrawal.
