It promises to be an enthralling evening of boxing in London tomorrow with 3 world titles on the line at the O2 Arena including a top domestic showdown between IBF champ Kell Brook and former world amateur champion Frankie Gavin. It's a fully stacked card and with British favourites such as the aforementioned Brook, Anthony Joshua, Kevin Mitchell and even Nathan Celverley involved, there should be a cracking atmosphere in one of the world's best boxing venues. Here are my previews for the best of the action tomorrow. Kell Brook v Frankie Gavin - Prediction - Brook to win on Points @21/10
The main event of the night sees IBF champ Kell "Special K" Brook make the 2nd defence of his title against the former world amateur champion and fellow Brit, Frankie Gavin. What a year it has been for Brook who having won the title in America with a fine win over Shawn Porter found himself fighting for his life just 2 weeks later following a horrific stabbing in Tenerife as the new champ indulged in some well deserved celebrations on the holiday island. Following that incident, Brook returned to the ring for his first defence against the over-matched Romanian Jo Jo Dan and Brook promptly earned a swift stoppage win to retain his title but Gavin is definitely a step-up for Brook and he will need to be at his best if he is to keep his IBF strap in tomorrow's headline event. I have a feeling that Gavin has been a little under-estimated here with Brook just 1/14 to retain his title and while I don't expect any changing of the guard here, I do expect the slippery and supremely skilful Gavin to give Brook a really difficult night's work. Brook is just 1/2 to win by stoppage but Gavin has a good chin and with this fight promising to be something of a chess match, I'm going to take a chance on Brook to win on points @21/10 odds as I feel this fight will be closer than many expect. Gavin is one of the UK's most skilled and crafty boxers and I expect him to cause Brook some difficulties in this fight, especially in the early rounds with his movement and the variety of different angles in his punches but ultimately, I expect Kell to do what he has to do to keep his title and earn a close but unanimous points decision. Brook is a very good fighter perhaps "special" as his moniker would suggest and there are some huge fights awaiting for him, should he get the business done here with the likes of Mayweather, Pacquiao, Maidana and Marquez all possible opponents down the line and I do expect the Sheffield man to keep those dreams alive but it might not be easy and I don't expect a stoppage. Kevin Mitchell v Jorge Linares - Predictions - Mitchell to win @1/1, Mitchell to win by stoppage @10/3 Home town favourite Kevin Mitchell will be hoping to make it 3rd time lucky in his bid to win a world title as he challenges the Venezuelan and 3 time World Champion Jorge Linares. Mitchell lost badly in his 2 previous challenges, being stopped first by Aussie Michael Katsidis in 3 rounds before a 4th round stoppage to Scotland's Ricky Burns derailed his 2nd attempt to win a world title but I have a feeling this will be Mitchell's moment against a sometime vulnerable Linares. Linares has been stopped 3 times already in his career and while he carries a strong reputation, Mitchell definitely has the tools and finally the dedication required to fulfill his dream. This is a genuine "pick em" fight, in other words, a 50/50 battle but I'm picking the Londoner to finally claim the title with plenty of in the know fighters and pundits believing that Mitchell has finally dedicated himself to his craft and that world honours will be his reward. Mitchell himself has spoken about a "party boy" lifestyle that left him underprepared for his 2 previous title challenges and if he has indeed "screwed the nut" as we say in Scotland, then I believe he will get the win he craves. Method of victory is harder to call but given that Linares has been stopped 3 times previously, and Mitchell twice, then perhaps a KO victory could be on the cards here. Only 2 of Linares last 11 fights have seen the 12 rounds and with 3 KO defeats, 2 of which came in the 1st round, there could be a vulnerability to the Venezuelan that Mitchell can take advantage of. Mitchell is 10/3 to claim the title by stoppage and that might just be the value here. Anthony Joshua v Kevin Johnson - Prediction - Joshua to win by stoppage- Total Rounds - over 6.5 @2/1 Perhaps the most intriguing fight of the night, certainly for the more casual fan as Olympic Gold medallist and the hugely likeable Anthony Joshua continues his ascent up the heavy-weight ranks with his toughest test to date against the never been stopped Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson. Johnson definitely talks the talk and believes he is going to upset the apple-cart with a win that would send shock-waves through the sport although with the bookies pricing Joshua at 100/1 ON to win this fight, we can assume that Johnson is unlikely to be a man of his word. Johnson holds notable wins over Bruce Seldon, Alex Leapai and Albert Sosnowski and has never been stopped in his 12 year career, and having gone the distance with the legendary Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora amongst others, this is by no means the kind of cannon fodder opposition that Joshua has been used to in his 2 year career so far. I don't expect an early knock-out here and I don' like the 2/11 odds on Joshua to be the first man to stop Johnson even if I do expect that outcome ultimately so I'm looking at the round betting and the 2/1 on offer for the fight to go beyond round 6 looks pretty tasty to me. Yes Joshua is a super talent and if he goes in there and blows Johnson away it wouldn't be a shock, given both Joshua's talent and that Johnson is now a downward spiral having lost 5 of his last fights but the American is full of confidence (what else would you expect) and I do believe his skills will give Joshua the first difficult assignment of his young career. I expect the slippery and cocky Johnson to use his mouth and his skills to try to unsettle Joshua but I don't expect it to have too much of an effect against this really exciting and likeable Brit, who will actually probably enjoy getting some rounds under his belt for a change having never gone beyond 3 rounds in his career thus far. While I expect the stoppage to come, I'm gonna take a chance on Johnson making it to round 7 or more at 2/1 odds as I expect Joshua to slowly chop the American down to earn a late stoppage. Lee Selby v Evegeny Gradovich - Prediction - Selby to win on points @5/6 Known as the "Welsh Mayweather", Lee Selby is taking his first shot at a world title against the unbeaten champion from Russia in a fight that promises to be a real clash of styles. The Russian likes to throw a lot of punches while Selby, as the nickname suggests is more of a mover with the hit and not getting hit mantra the one he follows inside the ring and with the Russian's world title on the line, we should see a really entertaining battle between 2 different styles. I can't pretend to be an expert on either fighter so I will probably give this one a miss in terms of major bets but if I had to stick my neck out, and I usually do, I would back a points win for the Brit @5/6 odds on. Bo's Best Bets Brook to win on points @21/10 Joshua v Johnson - Fight to last more than 6 rounds @2/1 Mitchell to beat Linares @1/1 Comments are closed.
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