Boxing betting tips: Saturday's fight night in Paris on Sky Sports, featuring Dan Azeez v Thomas Faure
Boxing expert Chris Oliver is back with two bets for Saturday's action, including Dan Azeez's clash with Thomas Faure.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday March 11
2pts Dan Azeez to win in rounds 7-12 at 11/8 (William Hill)
1pt double Pacheco-Cullen over 4.5 rounds/Davis-Foley to go the distance at 7/4 (William Hill)
A busy Saturday night is in store with action from both sides of the English Channel for UK viewers to enjoy.
The Sky Sports cameras are in Paris for a show headlined by French heavyweights Tony Yoka and Carlos Takam, but we’re focusing on Britain’s Dan Azeez in his quest to capture the European light heavyweight title against Thomas Faure.
Illness ruled Azeez out when this bout was due to take place at the Wembley Arena last month, but he didn’t have to wait long for a new date and won’t mind having to travel to secure another title.
While many fighters saw their progress halted during the Covid-19 era, Azeez has flourished over the last three years and has been on a steep upward curve during that period. The Lewisham native has won the English, British and Commonwealth titles on his whistlestop tour of England and he is expected to continue his charge towards world honours by adding another strap to his collection here.
Rocky Fielding may have been past his best when he was stopped in eight rounds by Azeez in their Commonwealth title scrap in December, but the manner in which the latter controlled and dominated the contest from the first bell was impressive. That added to his eye-catching wins over Hosea Burton (TKO 7), Reece Cartwright (TKO 8) and Shakan Pitters (UD) and, as a late starter to boxing, he is still improving at 33 years old.
Despite Azeez being the challenger and fighting away from home, he is a best price of 1/16 and that tells you a lot about the record of Faure, who is available at 8/1. The Frenchman has never fought outside his home country and his record of 21-4-1 has been compiled against mediocre opposition, so a fifth defeat looks very much on the cards here.
The champion captured the belt against Kevin Thomas Cojean, who was 17-10-2 at the time, via a hard-fought points victory in January 2022, but he hasn’t been seen since and the momentum is all with the challenger, as well as the superior form and pedigree.
Faure has considerable height and reach advantages here, but that didn’t help him when he was stopped in seven rounds by the short and stocky Eddy Lacrosse in 2018. The Frenchman will look to box and keep it long but if Lacrosse could close the distance and go to work on the inside, then the much more accomplished Azeez should be able to do so as well. Also, Faure has only two stoppage wins to his name and seemingly lacks the power to deter the constant forward momentum of Azeez.
The UK raider will be disappointed if he doesn’t end this before the final bell and it’s no surprise to see Azeez just 4/11 to do so. He isn’t a one-punch knockout artist, though, and is more about applying constant pressure as he looks to break his opponents down gradually. That has been the case in all his recent stoppage wins and you can get 11/8 for him to get the job done in the second half of the fight here, which looks the way to go.
Show goes on in Liverpool without Smith
The DAZN-televised card in Liverpool is less appealing after local star Callum Smith withdrew through injury, but the show goes on and the headline slot now goes to another Scouser in the shape of Robbie Davis Jr.
He goes up against Australian-based Irishman Darragh Foley over 10 rounds and, although Davies is 2/9 to prevail, it may be more competitive than those odds would suggest.
After dropping a surprise majority decision to Gabriel Valenzuela just over two years ago, Davis switched to new coach Shane McGuigan and has been in good form since. A routine win over Jonny Phillips has been followed by a second-round knockout of the durable Henry Lundy and a points victory over Javier Molina last time out.
Foley (4/1) is on a four-fight winning streak and while the Aussie resident has been unsuccessful in his three previous outings in Britain, he has given a decent account of himself on each occasion. His 2018 contest with Chris Jenkins ended in a technical draw after three rounds before he lost a decision to Akeem Ennis Brown later that year and suffered the same fate against Tyrone Mckenna in 2019.
With home advantage, Davies on points appears the most likely outcome but that is a top price of 11/10 and that is skinny enough for a man with plenty of miles on the clock who often makes things harder for himself than he should. Southpaw Foley comes to fight and is durable enough, with all four defeats coming by decision, so the 4/5 about this one going the distance may be the safer option.
There is sure to be plenty of noise made in the Echo Arena by the loud travelling support of Jack Cullen, but their man has a huge task on his hands against rising star Diego Pacheco.
Pacheco, a 22-year-old from Los Angeles, is one of Matchroom’s brightest prospects and has received plenty of plaudits on his way to a perfect 17-fight record (14 KOs). Standing at 6’4”, he is huge for a super middleweight and possesses good power in his right-hand, along with a fine jab and a varied arsenal.
Pacheco is used to having a big size advantage, but the 13/1 outsider Cullen presents something different for the American as the Lancastrian is just one inch shorter at 6’3” and is capable of asking a few questions of the 1/12 favourite.
The local fighter was on a real roll following wins over John Docherty (UD) and former world title challenger Avni Yildrim (UD), but that came to a halt when Kevin Lele Sadjo folded him with a sixth-round body shot in December 2021. A similar fate may be on the cards here, as he faces another unbeaten foe who is adept at going to the body and Pacheco is just 2/9 to register stoppage win number 15.
However, the highly-regarded visitor isn’t about all-out aggression, but instead is quite comfortable as the counter puncher and has shown patience beyond his years to date. On Pacheco’s first visit to the UK and with Cullen sure to be bang up for this huge opportunity on home soil, this 10-rounder could be competitive early doors before the favourite’s class prevails. With that in mind, Pacheco to win in rounds 6-10 and by decision are both tempting at 5/2 and 9/2 respectively. However, the most solid option looks to be over 4.5 rounds, which is on offer at 8/11 and can form a nice double with the main event to go the distance at combined odds of around 7/4.
Posted at 1330 GMT on 10/03/23
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