Posted on 4/11/2008 11:58:22 AM

Boxing Betting Odds – Castillejo vs. Sylvester

By Charles Jay

On Saturday in Germany, the sports betting community will be able to be on BetUS sportsbook boxing as Sebastian Sylvester will put his European middleweight title on the line against the challenge of Spain's Javier Castillejo in what could land the winner with a shot at a world championship. The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds.

BetUS Boxing Btting odds:

European Middleweight (160-lb.) title

April 12 -- Germany

JAVIER CASTILLEJO -140

SEBASTIAN SYLVESTER +110

OVER 10.5 ROUNDS -210

UNDER 10.5 ROUNDS +160

For betting purposes, let's size up the contestants:

SYLVESTER (28-2, 13 KO's), the +110 underdog in the BetUS boxing betting odds, lost his pro debut, but has lost only one fight since. That was to then-undefeated Amin Asikainen, who stopped him in eight rounds in June of 2006, in what ended Sylvester's first reign as European champ at 160 pounds. Sylvester came back a year later to stop Asikainen in eleven rounds to regain his crown, and has rolled on with successful defenses against Simone Rotolo and Francois Bastient. He has some sound fundamentals but is rather mechanical and limited. He does not take much power into the ring, but instead relies on conditioning. And he has not been tested against top-shelf opposition, at least not consistently. However, very ordinary fighters with little power like Franck Mezaache have had him hurt and close to being stopped (Sylvester got an eight-count) and that, in addition to his stoppage loss to Asikainen, would bring up questions about how much punishment he can actually take. Sylvester does take a defensive posture, perhaps to compensate, but that also hinders his ability to sustain at attack. Clearly, with a 13-year age "advantage" (he is 27, while Castillejo is 40) he would like to be able to out-hustle his opponent. But whether he can keep Castillejo off of him is a point of contention.

CASTILLEJO (62-7, 43 KO's), the -140 favorite at BetUS Sportsbook, has been tested far more extensively against high-level competition. And he's gotten some of those opportunities partially due to his political connections, which always seem to land him somewhere around a title fight. Castillejo turned pro in 1988 and, after losing his eighth pro fight, went unbeaten until he dropped a decision (very close on two of the judges' cards) to Julio Cesar Vasquez in 1993. He won the WBC 154-pound title with a win over Keith Mullings in January 1999 and made five defenses over fringe challengers. But American audiences may know him best from his fight against Oscar De La Hoya in June of 2001, which he lost on a shutout decision. Castillejo probably acquitted himself better than most people gave him credit for. After De La Hoya gave up the WBC belt, Castillejo won it against over Roman Karmazin, in what was a surprise to many, and after a decision loss to Fernando Vargas in August 2005, in which he gave a limited effort, it was though he would retire. But Castillejo upset Felix Strum for the WBA middleweight title in July 2006, showing he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He lost his first defense against Mariano Carrera five months later, but Carrera was later tested positive for a drug and had the title stripped, proving that in Europe, if they can't beat you one way, they'll beat you another way. A competitive decision loss to Sturm followed, and then in his last fight, Castillejo won a rematch with Carrera by stopping him in the sixth round. That put him in the position of mandatory challenger for Sturm, thus setting up a rubber match for the WBA title.

That Sturm fight is a big one in Germany, and Sylvester could get in th way to scuttle it with a victory. Keep in mind, of course, that he is, for all intents and purposes, the "house" fighter in this matchup, as he has spent his entire career fighting in his native Germany. But Sylvester does not bring a lot of artillery to the table, and Castillejo, though not necessarily known as a big puncher, almost certainly has enough pop to put Sylvester into difficulty, if those past fights against the likes of Mezaache are any indication. Remember who has the experience here, and don't write off Castillejo because of his age, since the win over Carrera, which took place in November, shows he still has something left.

I'm going to move with the favorite in this one, and I perceive that there is some value. So relative to the BetUS boxing betting odds, I will lay -140 on Javier Castillejo and look for him to have a last hurrah.

JAY'S PLAY: CASTILLEJO TO WIN (-140) ***

(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)