Boxing Betting Tips
Moses Itauma v Mariusz Wach – Itauma To Win the Fight in Round 7 – 8
Dennis McCann v Ionut Baluta – McCann v Baluta Draw
Joe Joyce v Derek Chisora – Joyce To Win the Fight in Round 9 – 10
The O2 Arena in London is the venue for boxing this weekend, with big-name heavyweights Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora clashing in the main event, Dennis McCann and Ionut Baluta scraping over a European strap, and top prospect Moses Ituama meeting veteran big man Mariusz Wach.
Moses Itauma v Mariusz Wach – Itauma To Win the Fight in Round 7 – 8
TV: TNT Sports – 8 pm
There’s “handing over the torch” and then there’s fighting a man who’s easily old enough to be your dad. Itauma, 19, is the quick, slick prospect taking on former title challenger Wach, 44. The experienced Pole has lost four of his last six contests but he’s still very hard to hurt – rising British star and Olympic medallist Frazer Clarke couldn’t stop Wach when they fought last year.
Itauma is going to be at a big height and weight disadvantage – the veteran has gone from weighing in at around 250-260 pounds in his prime to more than 290 pounds in his last three fights. I think Wach’s passion for the sport has gone and Itauma’s speed will be enough to force a late KO.
Dennis McCann v Ionut Baluta – Draw
TV: TNT Sport, 9 pm
Boxers, pundits and bookies still seem to think that Baluta is some kind of stepping stone – but McCann should know better after he tangled with the Romanian in August last year and just about got away with the draw. This weekend it’s the rematch and Paddy makes Dennis ‘The Menace’ a decent favourite again, but I expect another very close contest.
McCann, 23, is slick and ripped – he looks the part – but Baluta is awkward, busy and teak tough, and when they fought 11 months ago it was hard to separate the men. A cut sustained by McCann meant the bout went prematurely to the cards in the 9th round, but Baluta was in the ascendency.
There’s no doubt the man from Maidstone is talented and still getting better, but Baluta, 30, has faced very good British and Irish opponents in his last eight fights and only lost twice. The away fighter is getting better too, and I can’t ignore the great price on another draw being announced after the final bell.
Joe Joyce V Derek Chisora – Joyce to Win the Fight In Round 9 – 10
TV: TNT Sport, 10:30 pm
This is a heavyweight clash in all senses of the phrase – the two men bring huge physical presence and massive name recognition to the arena on Saturday night. It’s a meeting of south London, Joyce, and north London, Chisora, but this fight has ramifications far outside the English capital.
There isn’t a belt on the line but in the heavyweight division, you are never far from getting another shot at a title. Both men have a history with all the top boys and the Saudi fight brokers love nothing more than to throw millions at big fights in boxing’s premier division.
Joyce would’ve surely already made himself some of that Middle East moolah if it hadn’t been for back-to-back KO losses to Zhilei Zhang in 2023, before that the ‘Juggernaut’ was rated as a top-five heavyweight after stoppage wins against Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois.
The losses against Zhang showed that you can catch and hurt Joyce in the early rounds before he can overwhelm you with power and pressure. I can see Chisora’s looping hooks catching big Joe clean, but Del Boy hasn’t KO’d an opponent since 2019.
Chisora has been a pro since 2007 – one year before Joyce even laced up a pair of gloves for the first time – and the Finchley fighter has notched up a record of 34 wins and 13 losses in that time. Joyce, 38, feels like the younger, fresher boxer but it is only because he came to the professional game late after a run to the 2016 Olympic silver medal – Joe is only two years younger than Derek.
Chisora’s third fight with Fury in 2022 seemed like it was his swansong and last big payday – he’s busy across social media talking about boxing and being the unofficial hype man of Saudi sport, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump. I don’t think the hunger is still there for Derek, and he couldn’t take out an ageing and fragile Gerald Washington in his last bout.
Even an unfit Del Boy is almost an impossible man to knockout, and in 17 years he’s only been stopped by Tyson Fury, David Haye and Dillian Whyte – and only the Haye KO came before round six when Chisora wasn’t exhausted.
I expect a gruelling scrap between two big men past their best. Not sure either has the speed or craft to land an early knockout, but I think Joyce can replicate what he did to Parker and Dubois and steamroller his way to another late stoppage win.
Saturday Night Boxing Tips
Moses Itauma v Mariusz Wach – Itauma To Win the Fight in Round 7 – 8
Dennis McCann v Ionut Baluta – McCann v Baluta Draw
Joe Joyce v Derek Chisora – Joyce To Win the Fight in Round 9 – 10
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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