Weekend boxing betting preview including Amir Khan and Carl Frampton

Recommended bets

1pt Amir Khan to win by decision at 14/5

1pt Tommy Coyle to win by decision at 7/2

1pt Carl Frampton to win in rounds 7-12 at 11/2

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

Amir Khan finally gets back to the day job when he returns to the ring against Phil Lo Greco in Liverpool on Saturday night.

It has been two years since he was brutally knocked out by Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez but Khan's name has regularly been in the headlines, and mainly for all the wrong reasons. A stint in the 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' jungle has been sandwiched by plenty of very public family problems and it remains to be seen how that affects him between the ropes.

Unless your name is Floyd Mayweather, long spells on the sidelines are generally evident on fight night and it is not easy to predict what version of Khan we will see here.

Given all of that, the choice of Lo Greco as a comeback opponent is understandable, but it didn't stop the cries of "Phil who?" by most fans when the fight was announced.

The Toronto native brings a record of 28-3 to the Echo Arena but all three defeats have come when he has stepped up in class, with points reverses against Shawn Porter and Joseph Elegele either side of a three-round beating by the excellent Errol Spence Jr.

Khan's record is on a different level, being a two-time light welterweight champion and boasting wins over top-class fighters such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Paulie Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, Zab Judah and Devon Alexander.

However, the highs of those fine wins have been matched by the lows of his four crushing defeats (three by stoppage) and his vulnerabilities, particularly around the whiskers, always give the opposition cause for optimism.

Lo Greco plods forward looking to engage with his hooks and overhand rights, but they are slow and wide and he leaves plenty of openings for someone as quick as Khan. It is his fast hands and rapid flurries that took the man from Bolton to the top of the game and the difference in speed should be noticeable from the first bell.

If the visitor is to spring a 12/1 surprise then he will need Khan, a 1/33 shot, to stand and trade, giving the underdog a chance of landing on that suspect chin. Hence why Lo Greco went straight for the jugular in an attempt to get under Khan's skin at the press conference in January and got his reaction in the shape of a glass of water being thrown over him.

However, Khan should be too experienced now to fall for such tactics and expect him to look to box that ring-rust off early on by keeping Lo Greco on the end of his excellent jab.

Once he gets going, Khan can punish his opponent with regularity and it should just become a case of whether or not he can stop him, which he is 4/11 to do. As limited as Lo Greco is, he is pretty durable and Khan by decision looks much better value at close to 3/1.

Lo Greco stood up well to the punishment from Porter and Elegele, and can be forgiven being stopped by Spence as he took that fight at just three days' notice, so a ring-rusty version of Khan may find it tougher to get rid of him than expected.

Topping the undercard is cracking domestic match-up between Sean 'Masher' Dodd and Tommy Coyle for the Commonwealth Lightweight title.

This fan-friendly duo have had tear-ups aplenty between them in the past and can deliver another one against each other in a bout that can steal the show.

Dodd (15-2-1) defends the belt for the second time and is the narrowest of 4/5 favourites, arriving on a five-fight winning streak, while Coyle (23-4) has been off for 14 months but has arguably mixed in better company, albeit with mixed results.

There may be very little between the pair and the exchanges should have the crowd on their feet, with both men liking to come forward and happy to give one to take one. However, the break may have freshened Coyle (evens) up enough to nick this on the cards after 12 rounds.

At around the same time, Coyle's gym mate Carl Frampton returns to Belfast to take on four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire.

At a lower weight and a few years ago this would be have been a superfight, but Donaire is well past his best at 35 and doesn't appear big enough for featherweight.

That's why Frampton, a two-weight world champion himself, is 1/7 to make a triumphant homecoming and 4/7 to do so on points. That is the most likely outcome, but an on-song Frampton may be too young and fresh for the ageing legend and could force the stoppage late on, making the 5/1 about rounds 7-12 worth chancing.

Posted at 1720 BST on 19/04/18.

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