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Wilder vs Breazeale Odds Review
Showtime Boxing delivers WBC world heavyweight title action this Saturday night live from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1) defends his belt against mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale (20-1). The fight is the first of a series of heavyweight bouts coming in the next six to eight weeks and if you look at Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s upcoming bouts for comparison, the Wilder-Breazeale match-up is the most competitive at the books as of right now.
Not that it is a competitive line, as Wilder is currently a 10/1 (minus-1000) favorite with Breazeale returning +650. If Wilder loses this fight he will likely see big money paydays against Joshua and Fury go by the wayside. Breazeale may be able to insert himself at the top with the two Brits with a win, but more likely for Breazeale would be a rematch with Wilder. Joshua, Fury and the sport of boxing at large will leave a lot on the table with a Wilder loss.
Wilder’s profile has been elevated after his controversial draw against Tyson Fury and, as a mandatory WBC opponent, Breazeale doesn’t have anywhere near the “Q Score” of Fury. This doesn’t mean he can’t present Wilder with a few wrinkles.
Wilder is six-foot-seven inches tall and he has not had a lot of opponents look him in the eye other than Fury. Breazeale is the same height and though the “Bronze Bomber” is a former Olympic bronze medalist, Breazeale had a somewhat longer amateur career as a foundation. He will weigh in at around 250 pounds, so he will have roughly 30 pounds on Wilder. If he can manage to avoid Wilder’s Sunday punch he has a chance to steal rounds by being busier, as Wilder doesn’t throw a lot of punches.
The lone loss of Breazeale’s pro career came in a failed world title bid against Anthony Joshua where he was stopped in the seventh round. Wilder will feel pressure to improve on Joshua’s performance against the common opponent. Breazeale and Joshua met in June of 2016 and the odds during fight week looked like a crush match:
Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Dominic Breazeale +2000 over 3½ +310
Anthony Joshua -4000 under 3½ -400
As you can see, Breazeale paid off if you chose the “over”. Expect a motivated Breazeale this Saturday. We will see if that is enough against Wilder who is on the verge of the paydays he has always dreamed about.
WBC world featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr (29-1) faces Spain’s Kiko Martinez (39-8-2) in the event’s co-feature. Martinez has held a world title at super bantamweight and his resume includes fights against Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg and Josh Warrington, so he is certainly battle-tested. At 33 years old and fighting up a weight class from his prime years, Martinez will present the same gritty style he has always employed. That may not be a great idea against the hyper-technical Russell Jr, whose lone loss is via majority decision to Vasyl Lomachenko.
This is clearly a showcase fight for Russell Jr. He and his team believe he is ready to be recognized at the top of the pound for pound lists and certainly bigger fights await. Though talented, Russell Jr has maddeningly fallen into a pattern where he has fought just once a year since 2016. More activity would help Russell Jr’s chances of becoming a star, as the talent seems to be there.
Check your local listings for the start times on Showtime. Nine fights in all make up the Barclays Center card, with Gary Russell Jr’s brothers Antuanne and Antonio both scheduled for eight round bouts. At last look, these are the prevailing odds:
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York – Showtime – Saturday, May 18, 2019
Featherweight 12 rounds –
Kiko Martinez +1800 Over 9½ +165
Gary Russell Jr -4000 Under 9½ -205
Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Dominic Breazeale +650 Over 9½ +235
Deontay Wilder -1000 Under 9½ -275
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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).
Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.
In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.
The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.
Co-Feature
In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.
Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.
What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.
The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.
Also
In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).
A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.
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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.
Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.
Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.
Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.
Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”
Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.
Semi-wind-up
In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
Also
In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.
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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.
In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.
All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.
Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.
Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.
Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.
In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.
Other Bouts
Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.
Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.
Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.
A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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