Boxing betting tips: Jack Catterall v Jorge Linares live on DAZN

Boxing betting tips: Saturday October 21

2pts Jack Catterall to win in rounds 7-12 at 13/8 (BoyleSports)

1pt Isaac Chamberlain to win by stoppage at 13/5 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

The last two years of Jack Catterall’s career have been the perfect example of how, rather like life, boxing isn’t fair.

The Chorley man hasn’t got anything like what he deserves of late, and will be looking to take his frustrations out on Jorge Linares when they clash in Liverpool on Saturday night, live on DAZN.

Catterall was on the wrong end of one of the biggest judging controversies in the UK for some time when he was denied being crowned the undisputed light welterweight champion in Glasgow, despite dropping and beating up Josh Taylor over 12 rounds.

After signing a big deal with Matchroom, Catterall was promised world title fights but was first handed Darragh Foley (22-4-1) in May and now takes on a 38-year-old veteran whose days at the top are long gone. All the while, the four 140lb straps are being contested elsewhere and the Catterall can’t get a look in.

The problem for the Chorley man is that the Taylor performance let the cat out of the bag (pun intended) and he’s now the king of the ‘who needs him?’ club. That display against the then unbeaten Taylor showed the world how good Catterall is, but he didn’t get the belts and the bargaining power they bring with them, so he’s now very high risk and low reward for the top men in the division.

Light fading for classy Linares

Catterall is 1/8 to record win number 28 here (one loss) and it seems strange to see former three-weight world champion Linares as big as 8/1, given how talented and good to watch he was in his pomp.

Linares is well known to British fans, having prevailed in a thriller with Kevin Mitchell in 2015 and then returned to these shores for back-to-back points wins over Anthony Crolla, before edging Hull’s Luke Campbell in California to retain his lightweight title in 2017. At his best, Linares would be a very warm favourite this weekend, but those glory days are a distant memory now and he arrives in the UK with a record of 47-8 on the back of three consecutive losses.

Admittedly, in the first of those defeats, he gave lightweight ruler Devin Haney plenty to think about in dropping a fairly close decision, but then looked a shadow of his former self in his defeats against Zaur Abdullaev (14-1) and Zhora Hamazaryan (12-3-2) in Russia last year. The Venezuelan has also done all his best work at lower weights and the last time he dipped his toe into the light welterweight division, he was stopped inside a round by Pablo Cesar Cano in 2019.

While he can still put his punches together well, Linares is now much easier to hit, and it looks very likely that a painful night is in store for the veteran. However, Catterall isn’t the kind of explosive fighter to jump on Linares and repeat that early knockout, but he should still be too big, strong and accurate for the faded visitor now.

Catterall fancied for late stoppage

Catterall is at his best on the back foot, as evidenced by his performance in Scotland last year when he constantly made Taylor miss and pay with heavy counters. The 30-year-old also has an excellent jab from his southpaw stance and goes to the body well, while his defensive shell is effective, and he is hard to hit cleanly.

The biggest opponent for Catterall here could be inactivity, as this will be only his third fight since late 2020, but those 10 rounds when easily outpointing Foley in May should have done him the world of good.

A decision victory for Catterall is priced up at 9/5 and if someone as experienced as Linares comes to solely survive, opposed to trying to win, then the favourite may struggle to halt the visitor. However, returning to the big stage in the UK and knowing this is very much his last chance, I expect the underdog to come to fight. That scenario would make a Catterall stoppage much more likely and odds of 4/5 back that up.

Given that Catterall isn’t the most aggressive and likes to take his time, backing him TO WIN IN ROUNDS 7-12 at 13/8 looks better value than the straight stoppage and that is where my money will be. It could be competitive in the first third of the fight, but it should be one-way traffic once the local man finds his range and Linares may be forced to take too many big left hands for him to make it to the final bell.

• CLICK HERE to back Catterall rounds 7-12 with Sky Bet

We should also have been looking forward to a mouth-watering contest between Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez at London’s O2 Arena this weekend, but a back injury forced the latter to pull out earlier in the week.

Chamberlain a worthy favourite against Lawal

Thankfully, the Sky Sports-televised show has been saved, albeit it across town at the much smaller York Hall, and there is still a decent headliner in the shape of Isaac Chamberlain and Mikael Lawal.

The latter’s British cruiserweight title is on the line and when that famous Lonsdale belt is at stake, it usually delivers excitement and the fiery build-up between the pair suggests that will be the case again in Bethnal Green.

Despite arriving unbeaten in 17 fights and being the champion, Lawal is a slight underdog at 15/8 and Chamberlain is the 4/7 favourite, which is largely down to the company he has kept.

Chamberlain has lost two of his 17 outings, but they came against two future world champions in Lawrence Okolie (2018) and Chris Billam-Smith, with the latter contest being a fight of the year contender for 2022.

Experience can prove key for Chamberlain

It can be dangerous judging a fighter on their efforts in defeat, but the Brixton native Chamberlain also boasts the best winning form in this bout, having beaten the likes of Luke Watkins (UD), world title challenger Dilan Prasovic (KO1) and the tough, but limited, Dylan Bregeon (points) last time out.

Lawal has stopped 11 of his 17 victims and can clearly dig, but this is a notable step up in class for him and he will need to improve on the form of his title-winning performance over David Jamieson (RTD8) 11 months ago to keep his ‘zero’ intact.

Chamberlain can blow hot and cold a little, but the lure of the British title and the genuine bad blood between the pair should ensure he is bang up for this one and I think it could catch fire early. With that in mind, I prefer the 13/5 about the favourite WINNING BY STOPPAGE than by decision, which is a 7/4 chance.

Topping the bill on a show like this is new ground for Lawal and the experience of Chamberlain on the big stage could prove vital. This venue has been a happy hunting ground for Chamberlain, and he can make it seven wins from seven at the York Hall in a contest that should be exciting while it lasts.

• CLICK HERE to back Chamberlain by stoppage with Sky Bet

Posted at 1110 BST on 20/10/23

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.