What a weekend of action we have in store as a real fan’s favourite of British boxing travels to the lion’s den to take on one of the most talented fighters on the circuit at the minute and a man rated near the top of every pound-for-pound list. Followers are in for a treat. Here are our Vasiliy Lomachenko v Anthony Crolla betting tips.
Manchester’s Anthony Crolla goes to Los Angeles where he’ll face living legend Vasiliy Lomachenko over 12 rounds at the Staples Center in a bout to decide the short-term future of the WBA and WBO world lightweight titles. Taking place in the early hours of Saturday morning, the tussle has an advertised start time of 4.00am and there will be plenty in the UK more than happy to stay up late and catch this one live, with coverage provided by Sky Sports.
As well as the main event, there’s also a few bouts of note on the undercard that will keep fight fans interested. Followers of the support acts will get the chance to catch up on the careers of Gilberto Ramirez, Tommy Karpency, Arnold Barboza Jr, Mike Alvarado, Jose Rodriguez and Ramel Snegur.
Bookies Roll Out the Red Carpet
You can also help prop your eyes open heading into the wee small hours with a bet on the outcome of the bill-topper and bookmakers have rolled out the red carpet in preparation for the increased level of interest in Crolla’s trip stateside.
Few in the know give the Englishman a chance of getting anywhere near an upset on fight night, but there are a number of exciting markets to bet on, meaning you can give yourself a financial interest without picking sides. There’s plenty of value around too and it’s our job to help you find it.
Your favourites sports predictions website has drafted in their expert boxing tipsters to run through this fight, picking over the form and facts before returning with our view on where best to place your cash. We also pick out any specials offered by bookmakers and will even advise which firms are offering best price on the most popular markets, ensuring your stake money will work hard on your behalf. Making a profit from sports betting is no easy feat, so we can’t afford to be taking less of a price about our selections.
Feeling Like a Million Dollars
Anthony Crolla travels from his Manchester base in a state of shock after receiving a phone call to fight one of the best in the business. The 32-year-old Brit is no stranger to the major bouts, of course, but a meeting with Lomachenko represents a real step up in standard and Crolla will have to go through two or three divisions from what he is used to.
Million Dollar makes the trip with a professional record showing 36 wins against six defeats and three draws. Of his victories, 13 have come inside the distance, so it’s fair to say he’s not a fighter who carries concussive punch power and that has proven to be his undoing at the top level. Despite losing six times already, only one man has managed to stop Crolla and that was Derry Matthews way back in 2012 when the pair met for the British lightweight title in Oldham, the beaten warrior halted in six after suffering a cut early in the contest.
This bout will be worlds apart from losing to Matthews in Oldham but Crolla has worked his way to the top, refusing to be knocked down by set-backs and maintaining an unwavering level of self-belief and confidence that tells him he belongs in the big fights. A glittering career has led to him collecting a clutch of titles, fighting on the biggest domestic shows. The majority of British fans love him and it’s no surprise to see many will follow their man to America.
Bookies Write Crolla Off
Crolla goes into the biggest fight of his career on the back of three wins and he’ll be as confident as ever he has what it takes to shock the sport to its very foundations. Since suffering back-to-back defeats to Jorge Linares in 2016 and 2017 in Manchester, Anthony bounced back to better Ricky Burns in a fascinating all-British clash, out-pointing the Scotsman over 12 rounds. He followed that with a 10-round win vs Edson Ramirez and was last seen beating Daud Yordan at the Manchester Arena in November on the undercard of Tony Bellew v Aleksandr Usyk.
Despite that winning run, bookmakers have been quick to write Anthony Crolla off and believe he will end up as little more than a stat on his opponent’s record. They are so confident this will be a wasted trip, in fact, Bet365 are offering a chunky 18/1 on the away win. That’s a big price in a two-runner field and shows just how the money men expect this one to pan-out. The draw is as meaty as 50/1 and, despite both prices catching the eye, we don’t expect either to attract too much attention in the betting ring, apart from diehard Crolla fans eager to mark the occasion with a hefty pay-out.
Method of Victory
As you would expect, the prices grow bigger in the method of victory market and it’ll be a brave punter who has their cash down on the Brit winning by knockout at 33/1 (bet365), the points cheer thought to be even less likely at Unibet’s 40/1. There are ways to back Crolla without taking him to win, however. Fancy him to last the distance?
There’s 7/2 at Bet365 on followers hearing the final bell and this bout forcing the judges into action. You can also wager on Crolla staying on his feet until, at least, the seventh round with over 7.5 in the total rounds betting yours at 10/11 with Ladbrokes. That looks one worth a second look.
The Main Man
Vasiliy Lomachenko doesn’t enter the ring with the unbeaten record casual fans may expect of him, but he is the main man in this bout, and will be eager to show it from the off. The 31-year-old Ukrainian based in California has won 12 and lost one so far, with the spare coming against Orlando Salido for the WBO featherweight title in only his second fight. That was back in 2014 and the beaten man has improved plenty since.
Followers of the form will be interested to learn Hi-Tech stopped Jorge Linares in 10 recently – the same man who beat Crolla on points twice – and Lomachenko followed that with a win over Jose Pedraza last time out in New York. With Vasiliy Lomachenko’s WBA and WBO titles on the line, the fight went the distance, but Pedraza found himself on the canvas twice in round 11 before getting up to lose a wide points margin, 119-107 on one card.
Clues Taken From Linares Win
This looks a question of how Lomachenko wins, rather than if but there are lots of ways you can back him. The favourite is no better than 1/66 with Ladbrokes in the fight winner market – some firms as short as 1/200 – so that forces us into the method of victory.
We can take our lead from how he performed against Linares, so will be backing Lomachenko to win in rounds 7-12 at 27/20 with Unibet, better than the even money you’ll get with most other bookies betting on that one. If you fancy Crolla to see the fight out, you can back Lomachenko on points at 7/2 with Bet365.