Posted on
4/25/2008 2:00:14 PM
Bet Online On Boxing - Overseas Stars Highlight Boxing Weekend
By Charles Jay
Oscar De La Hoya finally gets back into the ring next Saturday night, but BetUS Sportsbook online boxing betting fans don't have to wait that long to get into action again. The sport of boxing may stagnate from time to time in the U.S., but overseas it is going great guns, and two of the best fighters in Europe will be going at it this weekend in a pair of title fights that could present some value to our BetUS customers.
Let's take a look at them.
BetUS Boxing Betting Odds
WBO Jr. Middleweight (154-lb.) Title
April 26 -- Dresden, Germany
SERGIY DZINZIRUK -800
LUKAS KONECNY +550
OVER 9½ ROUNDS -300
UNDER 9½ ROUNDS +200
DZINZIRUK (34-0, 22 KO's), the -800 favorite in the BetUS boxing betting odds, is a guy who's going places - his decision win over Daniel Santos, in which he won the WBO 154-pound title in December 2005, should be evidence of that. Of course, like a lot of the European fighters who win world titles, he is not tested as much as he should be - for example, his last championship opponent, Carlos Nascimento, was a 16-0 fighter who was hardly ready for a title shot. But this southpaw native of the Ukraine had a prosperous amateur career, which was highlighted by an appearance in the 1996 Olympics. At 32, he is no spring chicken, so the time to really make a move is now.
KONECNY (36-2, 18 KO's). The +550 underdog at BetUS, is a native of the Czech Republic but has fought quite a bit in Germany. He was beaten in 2004 by Ruben Varon Fernandez and then in March of '06 by Michele Piccirillo. Both of those were distance fights. Konecny has shown flashes of power; he was able to floor Piccirillo as well as Roman Dzuman, who he defeated for the WBO Inter-Continental title ten months ago. A veteran of 257 amateur bouts, he's also fought in the Olympics, as a member of the 2000 Czech team.
Against the cagier guys he faced early in his career, like Leon Pearson and even career opponent Benji Singleton, Dzinziruk was forced to go the distance, and although it should be mentioned that he was able to blast out former world title challenger Mamadou Thiam in three rounds, none of his other bouts since he's been fighting world-class opponents have ended early. In fact, each of his last six fights have gone into the eleventh round, so he's patient enough to not rush things, yet not powerful enough to blow most opponents away.
Dzinziruk is the house fighter here (i.e., he belongs to the promoter), so I'm not that interested in guessing when the judges are going to "keep it fair." However, I think Konecny, a veteran fighter, has the ability to go the distance in this one, so I'm moving with the "over" and happy to lay the 3/1 (-300) in the BetUS boxing betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: OVER 9.5 ROUNDS (-300) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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BetUS Boxing Betting Odds
WBO Light Heavyweight (175-lb.) Title
April 26 -- Dresden, Germany
ZSOLT ERDEI -3000
DEANDREY ABRON +1100
OVER 8½ ROUNDS -165
UNDER 8½ ROUNDS +125
ERDEI (28-0, 17 KO's), the -3000 favorite in the BetUS boxing betting odds, is a more or less overlooked champion, but the former Hungarian Olympian has held the WBO title for almost four and a half years, and he's beaten credible opponents along the way, first winning the crown against Julio Cesar Gonzalez (who had just come off a win over 48-0 Dariusz Michalczewski) in January of 2004 and defending it against the likes of Hugo Hernan Garay, Paul Murdoch and Thomas Ulrich. Of course, there have also been some foes who have been less than worthy, namely the last three - Danny Santiago, George Blades, and Tito Menodza - all of whom are very ordinary using the standards by which we measure world title challengers. Certainly Erdei's promoter, Klaus-Peter Kohl, is not interested in much risk when the payoff is not there, and he has tremendous influence with the WBO to be able to facilitate that.
They're looking for the same thing with ABRON (15-1, 10 KO's), the +1100 underdog at BetUS, is a native of Youngstown, Ohio who is rather inexperienced on a world-class level. How inexperienced? Well, Abron was fighting against six-round opponent-types as recently as July of 2007, and his big win was a 12-round decision against overrated, overblown Shane Benfield last September. However, a closer look reveals that Abron is not without credentials or skills, not in the least. He spent fifteen years boxing in the U.S. Army, was the 2003 National Golden Gloves champion, and three years before that, was an alternate on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. So whatever experience he lacks in the pros, he's had quite a bit in the amateur ranks. And that will come in handy.
At 6'3", Abron will have a five-inch height advantage over Erdei. That's important for a guy who will be looking to keep an opponent at bay with his jab. It's not likely that Abron is going to get the benefit of the doubt from the judges, not on one of Kohl's shows. But he may have enough to take this fight the distance against a champion who is not renowned for his power. An upset is always possible. But I prefer to go with the distance prop, going "over" the 8.5 rounds is it is posted in the BetUS boxing betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: OVER 8.5 ROUNDS (-165) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
Betting on boxing has never been so easy and you can get your bets in now in the BetUS sportsbook. Go to Other Sports: Boxing. Find tons of props on the fight and the fighters in the Future / props section as well!
(Charles Jay of www.eBookies.com is a former manager, matchmaker and color commentator in professional boxing. He currently pulls no punches in the BetUS Locker Room)