Boxing has got off to a great start in 2018: The World Boxing Super Series has been a success, with dramatic wins for George Groves and Murat Gassiev in their respective divisions. Both have intriguing finals to look forward to in the late Spring. New York City boxing fans were treated to a thriller at the Barclay’s Center when Deontay Wilder overcame Luis Oritz in the 10th round to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
Things have started well, but there is a lot of great boxing to look forward to, and plenty of intriguing bets to me made. Below are some of the events sending a lot of traffic to bookmakers’ sites:
Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker, Cardiff, 31st March:
The fight that everyone in the UK is talking about and the bout that Deontay Wilder will be keeping a close eye on. Joshua (20-0, 20KOs) will be defending his WBA (Super), IBF and IBO titles, with Parker (24-0, 18KOs) putting his WBO belt on the line. The winner will likely face Deontay Wilder in order to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly two decades. Joshua is overwhelming favourite for the fight at 1/10, with Parker priced at around 6/1. But check out the detailed Joshua Parker betting odds, because there are lots of different markets for this fight.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Saul Alvarez, Las Vegas, 5th May:
Certainly, the most highly-anticipated rematch in recent years, all eyes will be on Golovkin and Canelo in this Cinco de Mayo super fight. The bookmakers have understandably priced Golovkin as the slight favourite, with many observers feeling that he edged the first fight, which ended in some controversial scoring. The current odds see Golovkin at 4/7, with Alvarez priced around 6/4. You can find odds of 20/1 for another draw. Although, the smartest money may be placed on the fight going the distance at odds of 8/11.
World Boxing Super Series Finals, 11th May and TBC.
News that George Groves needs surgery means that there is still some confusion over the date of Super Middleweight Final, with the original date of June 11th not looking possible. Nevertheless, the bookmakers have still made Groves slight favourite over Calum Smith, with odds of 4/5 and 6/5 respectively.
The Cruiserweight Final will go ahead in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11th May. The undefeated Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk will go head to head with Russia’s Murat Gassiev in an intriguing fight. Usyk has been made favourite in the odds at 4/11, with Gassiev priced at around 9/4. The fight has gone under the radar to some extent, but it looks like it could be a thriller.
Deontay Wilder vs Anthony Joshua, TBC.
Most boxers do not like to tempt fate by planning fights too far ahead, so you can guess that Anthony Joshua is not yet thinking about anything after the Parker fight. However, that has not stopped the bookmakers giving odds for Wilder and Joshua’s potential showdown. The odds have shifted slightly after Wilder beat Ortiz, but the ‘Bronze Bomber’ is still the outsider in the betting. He is given odds of 21/10, with Joshua placed at 4/9. Expect those odds to change if Joshua struggles against Parker on 31st March.
