We’re off to America this weekend for an evening of world championship boxing at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The show will be live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning and there are no less than two world titles on the line. Here are our top Demetrius Andrade v Maciej Sulecki betting tips.
Demetrius Andrade defends his WBO world middleweight strap against the challenge of ambitious Pole Maciej Sulecki in the main event and that is supported by Kal Yafai v Norbelto Jimenez for the WBA world super flyweight face-off. Former heavyweight champion Joe Parker is also back in action as he aims to force his way back into contention following Andy Ruiz Jr’s stunning upset win over Anthony Joshua in New York earlier this month which blow the division wide open.
Interest from UK Audience
The event is promoted by Eddie Hearn for Matchroom Boxing and that will ensure there’s a healthy UK audience, both in attendance and watching the live coverage. The main event is scheduled for a 2.00am start time GMT but it promises to be a bout well worth staying up for and the undercard means dedicated followers will be in their seats early.
As well as the action, you can also bet on the outcome of the evening’s best fights. Aim to make a slight profit in each contest by betting fight by fight or shoot for a bigger pay out and go for a nice priced multiple, such as an accumulator or Lucky 15. A tougher task, of course, but there’s much more to get excited about in terms of prizes.
There are also many specials markets attached to the fights, including round betting, group round betting, method of victory, over/under rounds, draw no bet, and plenty more besides. The method of victory is of particular interest to value hunters as it offers better odds. All you have to do here is predict the winner of the fight and how they will achieve the result – points or KO/TKO. No mean feat, as you can imagine, but a bit of research done on both fighters involved usually makes it an achievable task.
Andrade Unbeaten in 27
Demetrius Andrade arrives at the venue unbeaten in his previous 27 outings, a record stretching all the way back to his debut on October 2010. The 31-year-old local lad has 17 knockout wins on his card, resulting in a 63% KO average. He won the title in October of last year when beating Walter Kautoondokwa by a unanimous decision in front of an appreciative Boston audience when the vacant title was on the line.
Andrade made a successful defence of his crown with an inside the distance victory over Artur Akavov in January of this year, helping push himself further up the rankings. He may be in a quality-laden middleweight category, but he has a respected version of the world title and that will ensure the big names will come calling, providing he keeps winning. That, of course, means he’ll also be in line for some life-changing pay cheques, especially if the likes of Saul Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders can be brought to the negotiating table.
To have any chance of that, Andrade must win this weekend and he must put on a performance that catches the eye of major promoters and boxing’s big hitters. He has fought his way into a fantastic position, but that’s the easy bit. Holding on and continuing that progress will be key to any future success. Bookmakers expect the champion to successfully defend his crown and punters who agree will have to make do with the 1/5 offered by 888sport. Tight, but it’s better than the 1/6 that’s generally available. The method of victory market is sure to see increased interest as a result and another KO/TKO is sure to attract attention, especially from casual backers looking for a reason to stay up burning the midnight oil.
Challenger Promising an Upset
Challenger Maciej Sulecki has been very vocal in the lead up to this fight, aiming insults at his opponent while promising to win the contest and become champion of the world. That much was expected of him, but talk is cheap, and he will be judged on how hard he fights on Saturday, not by what he says in front of the watching media who really have been eating up his ramblings. Amongst the rants, Maciej has said Andrade hasn’t fought an opponent of note yet and has been well protected by his team.
This looks to be little more than a man trying to goad his rival into a stand-up war which Sulecki will see as his best chance of winning. He must be careful what he wishes for, however, as if he keeps pushing Andrade’s buttons he might end up on the receiving end of a serious beating. When all is said and done, both men have the other’s full respect and we are set for a competitive contest and one that really could go either way. Bookies have had their say on how the bout should go but we saw with Andy Ruiz Jr’s win over Anthony Joshua that anything can happen in this sport.
Maciej Sulecki has little chance of leaving the arena with the win, according to traders who are happy enough to write him off and offer a chunky 4/1 at Bet365. He’s better than that and the generosity of the money men is sure to catch the eye of those who enjoy taking a gamble for small stakes. The draw is 20/1 with William Hill, if you can’t split them. After more for your stake money? Maciej to record a 12th knockout win of his career won’t go unnoticed.
Undercard
On the undercard we have Kal Yafai picked to beat Norbelto Jimenez on points in a fight that should tell us a lot about the Englishman. Jimenez’s record is less than impressive at first glance, but a closer inspection shows he is a fighter well worth paying attention too. He suffered a horrible start to life as a prize fighter, losing more than he won during the first couple of years, but he rallied to turn thing around against all the odds.
Nolberto has battled his way through the ranks and is now in a position to fight for a world title. He will see this as an ideal opportunity to cap the fairy tale, proving anything is possible in professional boxing. He has been written off across the board, however, with bookmakers, experts and pundits all picking Yafai. We agree with that and will back the champion to make a successful defence of his belt. He’s jolly, so take a bit more of a chance for a small risk and back Kal to win on points. He does have the power to get his man out of there but will be keen to box his way to a commanding lead and avoid the heavy shots coming his way, especially in the first few rounds when Jimenez will be particularly aggressive.