You would have forgiven Anthony Joshua for taking his eye of the ball for a few moments as he watched Deontay Wilder’s impressive performance against Luis Oritz in New York on 3rd March. Wilder sent out a warning to Joshua when retaining his WBC heavyweight belt and extending his record to 40-0, with the clamour for a big fight between the pair later in the year turning up another notch.
Joshua (20-0, 20KOs) has a big job on his hands before he can start dreaming of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. The fight on 31st March against Joseph Parker (24-0, 18KOs) has really caught the imagination of the UK public, with most thinking that Joshua will add Parker’s WBO belt to his IBF, IBO and WBA titles.
Betting, as has been the norm for Joshua fights, is expected to be huge on the event, with lots of special markets added by bookmakers. Below is a guide to how the current odds are playing out. If you want an expert guide to betting on the fight, click here for the latest expert predictions and analysis.
Fight Winner:
In the last few weeks there has been plenty of money coming in to back Joseph Parker to win the fight. His odds have moved slightly from 13/2 to 6/1 with Betfair. As a consequence, Joshua’s odds have also been raised, with the British fighter now 1/10 after being priced at 1/25 with the same bookmaker. While that seems like a big shift, you can see that Joshua is still overwhelming favourite to win.
Method of Victory:
This odds for this market have also shifted over the last couple of weeks. Joshua is priced at 1/3 to win the fight by KO, TKO or disqualification. Those odds are likely to attract some big-time punters as they seem quite generous given Joshua’s professional record. Joshua is priced at 9/2 to win by decision in a career first. Parker is 9/1 to win by stoppage and a massive 25/1 to win by decision. The draw is priced at 33/1.
Distance Betting:
Bookmakers really believe this fight will end early, giving odds of 1/6 that the fight will not go the distance. Odds of 7/2 are available for it to go the full 12 rounds. Parker has gone the full 12 in his last three fights and Joshua went to the 11th and 10th in his last two, so the prospect of the fight going the distance is not altogether a longshot.
Round Betting and Specials:
As mentioned, there are lots of special markets for this fight. One of the most tempting is the 10/1 offered by Paddy Power and Betfair for both fighters to be knocked down during the fight. There is also a market for Joshua (6/1) and Parker (20/1) to be knocked down but still come back and win.
You can, of course, bet on specific rounds for the winner. These will range from Joshua winning in Round 8 at 8/1 all the way up to Parker winning in Round 12 at a huge 175/1. However, one of the most eye-catching bets may just be the price of 8/5 (Ladbrokes) for either fighter to win in Rounds 7-12.
