Chris Oliver previews this weekend's big boxing action, which features Ryan Garner's dream fight against Michael Magnesi in Southampton.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday June 20
3pts Ryan Garner to win by decision at evens (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
1pt Lyndon Arthur to win by decision at 15/8 (QuinnBet)
The stakes are high as Ryan Garner gets his dream fight at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on Saturday night, live on DAZN.
The local man takes on Michael Magnesi for the WBC interim super featherweight title, with a crack at ‘full’ champion O'Shaquie Foster the carrot being dangled for the winner.
Garner has had his fair share of problems out of the ring and didn’t dedicate himself to the sport as he should have in his early days as a professional. However, ‘The Piranha’ has matured and is now fully committed to living the right life.
He has reaped the benefits of his new-found professionalism and that was very evident in his victory over Reece Bellotti last summer. Fighting for the British, Commonwealth and European belts, Garner used his slick footwork to outbox Bellotti before stopping him in the final session of that 12-rounder.
Now 19-0 (10 KOs), Garner is in the form of his life and is a 1/5 shot to maintain his perfect record against Magnesi, who can be backed at 5/1.
The latter brings a 26-2 (13 KOs) record to the table and will be best known to fans on these shores for losing a split decision to Anthony Cacace in Manchester nearly four years ago.
He has been stopped by Masanori Rikiishi since, but the Italian was ahead on all three scorecards when halted in the 12th round, and that form looks better since Rikiishi pushed ‘Sugar’ Nunez hard in a world title contest last May.
Magnesi knows only one direction and that is forwards, as he applies relentless pressure and looks to make his opponents work harder than they want to.
That should be no issue for Garner, though, who possesses a fantastic gas tank and his last-round victory over Bellotti was a good example of that.
The favourite has the better boxing brain and the superior footwork, and those factors could be his route to victory.
Garner doesn’t want to be holding his feet for too long against his rugged opponent, but that is unlikely given his skills and experience. I expect him to be on his toes and moving nicely here, with his more fluid approach proving the perfect antidote to the front-foot tactics of his opponent.
Garner will be backed by a big crowd in this stadium fight as well and that could be a big factor, with Magnesi only twice fighting outside of his native Italy and one of those occasions was his defeat to Cacace.
This should be a successful homecoming for Garner in front of a big crowd, and he can get his crowning moment, most likely by decision, with his smart boxing skills winning the day. It is only a best price of evens for him to win by decision, but I don’t see him forcing the stoppage (9/5) and think a points victory for Garner is a solid bet.
There is another local fighter on the bill as Lewis Edmondson faces Lyndon Arthur in an intriguing domestic light heavyweight bout.
Edmondson (11-1, 3 KOs) hasn’t fought since a controversial majority decision loss to Daniel Lapin at Wembley last summer and returns with a serious test here.
The Southampton man is a 5/4 chance to make a winning return but faces a tricky customer in Arthur (25-3, 16 KOs), who has been around a long time and the 34-year-old knows how to use all of his experience.
He displayed that when outpointing Bradley Rea on his latest outing in November, which is one of the best wins of his career and he is a 4/5 favourite to build on that with another success.
Edmondson had to chase the fight against Lapin, which didn’t really suit him, and it may be a similar scenario here. Arthur boasts one of the best jabs in the business and he can be very effective on the back foot.
It is just 2/5 for this to go the distance and there isn’t much between the prices for either man to win a decision. Edmondson is a slight favourite in that market at 37/20, but I prefer the experience of the wily Arthur, who is 15/8 to pick up win number 26 on the scorecards.
Posted at 11:20 BST on 19/06/26
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