Posted on 3/26/2008 10:19:35 PM

Boxing Betting Odds In St. Louis, Spinks Won’t Get “Jinxed”

By Charles Jay

Cory Spinks makes the second defense of his IBF light middleweight title on Thursday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, when he takes on grizzled veteran Verno Phillips in a scheduled 12-round bout that will seen live and free of charge over the internet at DonKingTV.

BetUS Boxing Betting Odds:

IBF Light Middleweight 9154-lb.) Title

March 27 -- St. Louis

CORY SPINKS -550

VERNO PHILLIPS +400

OVER 11.5 ROUNDS -400

UNDER 11.5 ROUNDS +250

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

SPINKS (36-4, 11 KO's), the -550 favorite in the BetUS boxing betting odds, is of course the son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks. His style is completely unlike that of his father, in that he is all about finesse. Spinks won 29 of his first 30 pro fights. In his first shot at a belt - the IBF welterweight crown - in April of 2002, he was beaten by Michele Piccirillo in a decision that was highly controversial. He won the rematch eleven months later and went on to defend the title against people like Zab Judah, Ricardo Mayorga and Miguel Angel Gonzalez. But after he was knocked out by a rampaging Judah (February of '05), he did what many fighters who lose do - he moved up in weight. At 154 pounds he won a majority decision over Roman Karmazin to capture the IBF's light middleweight crown, then in May 2007 he received an opportunity to fight Jermain Taylor for the middleweight title, an offer to good to pass up. In a dull fight, Spinks lost a split decision to Taylor, who has since lost his crown to Kelly Pavlik. He has not fought in the intervening ten months.

Considering his recent ring history, it is questionable as to how PHILLIPS (41-10-1, 21 KO's), the +400 underdog at BetUS, even gets a shot at a title. A native of Belize who has been in the professional ring for the past twenty years, Phillips won the WBO junior middleweight title in October 1993 when he stopped Lupe Aquino in seven rounds and went on to defend his title four times before losing to Paul Jones. He was active here and there, and in June of 2004 won the IBF 154-pound belt when he stopped Carlos Bojorquez. In his first defense, Phillips lost to Kassim Ouma, who had also beaten him three years prior. Recently he scored wins over Teddy Reid and J.C. Candelo - fading fringe contenders at best, and in his last fight scored a ten-round decision over the angular Eduardo Sanchez. Phillips has not been in the ring since that fight last February.

Spinks, a southpaw, is tall and fast and slick - the junior middleweight answer to former heavyweight champ Chris Byrd. That means he is awkward, tough to hit and generally makes for "stinkers." Most people didn't give a chance against Taylor, but Spinks has such a difficult style to solve that he causes problems for just about anyone. And he is not without talent either. Phillips is a wily vet, but wily vets aren't immune to Spinks' brand of awkwardness. Phillips had enough trouble with Ouma, who was also a southpaw and while a busier fighter, much moe of an open book than Spinks. Phillips will likely be aggressive, but he's going to find himself sleepwalking more often that not, and at age 38 he just doesn't have the zip to close the distance enough with this opponent.

In an interesting twist, Spinks has just gotten rid of Kevin Cunningham, his trainer of the past 13 years. The effect of this kind of thing should be minimized, as a fighter at this stage of Spinks' career and development isn't going too affected by a trainer's input, one way or the other. Father Leon and Uncle Michael Spinks, another former heavyweight champ, will be in his corner.

This fight is being held in St. Louis, which could also wind up being a factor. Missouri boxing commissioner Tim Lueckenhoff, who has been involved in some questionable dealings in the past, both in his state position as well as president of the Association of Boxing Commissions, has been pre-occupied with a campaign to bring major bouts to St. Louis. That campaign doesn't succeed if locals like Spinks get beaten. So even if he doesn't need it, expect that Spinks will get every possible break from officials.

I like Spinks in the fight, but I want to look for something with better value. I may find it in the "total rounds" prop. Spinks, with eleven KO's in 40 fights, hasn't stopped anyone since 2001. And he has never scored an inside-the-distance win over anyone who could really be considered world-class at the time. Phillips is rugged. Of his ten losses, only one of them - in his fifth pro fight - came by way of stoppage.

So we're looking OVER 11.5 rounds in the BetUS boxing betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: OVER 11.5 ROUNDS (-400) ***

(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 http://www.eBookies.com is a former manager, matchmaker and color commentator in professional boxing. He is also considered by most experts to be the premier investigative writer in the sport's history. He currently pulls no punches in the BetUS Locker Room)