Boxing betting tips: Anthony Yarde v Alex Theran and BT Sport undercard
Chris Oliver can't see any issues for Anthony Yarde as he previews Saturday's BT Sport bill, which includes a fascinating undercard.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday August 28
1pt Anthony Yarde to win in rounds 3-4 at 13/5 (Paddy Power)
1pt double Anthony Cacace and Akeem Ennis Brown by decision at 11/4 (bet365)
Anthony Yarde v Alex Theran
When: Saturday August 28, approx. 2130 BST
Where: Birmingham Arena
Watch: BT Sport 1 from 1930 BST
ANTHONY YARDE is the big name in action at the Birmingham Arena on Saturday, but it's a pair of British title contests at lower weights that should provide the excitement on the BT Sport-televised show.
Yarde hasn't fought since being outpointed by Lyndon Arthur in December and is a best price of 1/50 to overcome Alex Theran as he looks to set up a rematch with his domestic conqueror. That was the second defeat for Yarde in his last four outings, having run out of gas when stopped by Sergey Kovalev for WBO light heavyweight title in August 2019, and it prompted the addition of James Cook to his coaching team. Any more slip-ups in the near future and a career that once promised so much would be in tatters, so 'The Beast' will mean business.
Theran arrives on the back of a decent six-round points win over former world title challenger Adama Osumanu, but it was a faded version of the latter and the Colombian was knocked out in two rounds by Yunieski Gonzalez the time before. In fact, the 14/1 underdog has been stopped in all five of his defeats (against 23 wins) and stoppage loss number six beckons when he steps in with the big-punching Londoner.
Yarde has halted 19 of his 20 victims and while he is noted for his patient approach, the suggestion is that his new coaching set up could see him quicker out of the blocks and add some urgency to his work. It was that reluctance to step on the gas earlier that cost him against Arthur and he will be looking to make a statement on his return, so Theran will do well to make it past halfway in this 10-rounder.
That is reflected in odds of just 2/7 with Sky Bet about Yarde to win in rounds 1-5, so those wanting to play in this contest may have to look at the two-round group betting and Yarde to get the job done in the third or fourth session could be a little overpriced at 13/5 Paddy Power, although it isn't a bet for maximum faith.
Style makes fights
The aforementioned fights for the famous Lonsdale belt are much more are fascinating events and present a couple of really interesting style match-ups.
We'll start with AKEEM ENNIS BROWN versus Sam Maxwell, a pair of unbeaten super lightweights who have had plenty to say about each other in the build-up. Maxwell is a well-schooled former amateur star with sound fundamentals and a good all-round game, whereas Brown is the complete opposite with his unorthodox and awkward approach from the southpaw stance, and it will be intriguing to see who can impose their style on the fight.
Brown brings the belts to the table after capturing the British and Commonwealth straps when outpointing Philip Bowes in September on his return from a spell out of the ring. For the second contest running, Brown prevailed on the cards in a messy and untidy affair, having handed Bilal Rehman his first defeat in similar fashion 18 months earlier. However, they were both all-southpaw affairs against similarly tricky opponents, so he will be pleased to be squaring off against the more orthodox Maxwell here.
Maxwell does everything by the book and while he has no standout attribute, he does the basics well and has improved slowly but surely since turning over at 28 after a good career as a top-level amateur. A bronze medalist at the Commonwealth Games, he survived a big scare when stopping Sabri Sediri in the dying seconds of their March 2019 contest after being dropped in both the opening two rounds. He has looked better since then and his last two fights have seen him score career-best wins over Joe Hughes and Ben Fields, both via the scorecards.
Having sparred Josh Taylor for years on the Great Britain squad and shared 10 rounds with the great Vasyl Lomachenko over two bouts in the World Series of Boxing as an amateur, Maxwell is well versed with the problems of facing a left-hander, but he won't have seen too many like Ennis-Brown.
The Gloucester man has his own way of doing things and it seems very effective, just ask the likes of Glen Foot and Chris Jenkins who were upset by the champion in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Those are probably the best wins either man can boast here and earns Ennis-Brown slight favouritism at 4/6, with Maxwell available at 5/4.
Maxwell is arguably the puncher, with 11 of his 15 wins coming early, as opposed to just one from 14 for his opponent, but all the form clues point to this being a chess match that goes the distance and it is just 2/5 that we hear the final bell. With that in mind, is the value call the 100/30 about Maxwell wining a decision? That may be a little too far apart from the 20/21 about Ennis-Brown getting the nod on the cards, but the latter seems the likeliest option.
Tall and long for the weight, the 25-year-old bounces in and out of range and darts in with his long levers, which he throws from all sorts of angles and is extremely hard to read. This unpredictability could be the perfect antidote for the textbook style of Maxwell and the champion can retain the belts after 12 hard-fought rounds.
Woodstock could be cancelled
ANTHONY CACACE and Leon Woodstock's highly-anticipated super featherweight clash fell last-minute victim to Covid-19 when the latter tested positive during fight week of their scheduled contest in February, but thankfully it has been rearranged and it should be entertaining for the fans.
This is also odds-on (8/13) to go the distance, with stoppage wins thin on the ground for both of them recent years. Neither man has fought since the pandemic began but it's Cacace who was in the better form prior to the break and he is a 1/4 shot to successfully defend the belt he won with via a split decision over Sam Bowen when last seen in November 2019.
The Belfast native has only lost once in 19 starts, when dropping a tight decision to Martin Ward four years ago and Woodstock will be looking to repeat those tactics by outworking Cacace. However, Cacae showed in the Bowen victory that he has improved against pressure fighters as he scored with enough smart counters and straight single shots to get the nod.
Woodstock, whose two defeats from 12 came in his last three outings, will be on the front foot throughout and can make the champion work hard for every round, but Cacace's smart footwork could prove troublesome for 7/2 underdog.
Woodstock was outpointed when losing to Archie Sharp and Zelfa Barrett and could suffer the same fate against Cacace, who moves well enough to keep it at range for much of the fight and can pot-shot his man on the way in to get enough rounds in the bank for another points victory at 10/11.
Posted at 1640 BST on 27/08/21
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