IBHOF Boxing Gambler and Recipient Graham Houston Find betting value in this weekend’s action with Joet Gonzalez vs Isaac Dogboe and Gabriel Flores Jr. vs Giovanni Cabrera.
It’s been a quiet week on the betting front but we have a couple of US matches on Saturday night that are worth watching.
The most meaningful match of the weekend was the 10-round bout between world featherweight Joet Gonzalez and IsaacDogboe. Their competition was first in a Top promotion in Hinckley, Minnesota. The highest ranking motivates both boxers.
I supported Gonzalez when the match was announced but the price of 4/11 (-275) was higher than I expected: this is a well-balanced fight.
Gonzalez ‘only two defeats are at the highest level, against Shakur Stevenson and Emanuel Navarrete. He played the game but superior to Stevenson but he won four innings on the referee’s two cards against Navarrete, who, of course, twice beat Dogboe, the second by a brutal stop.
Dogboe is only 27 years old but he showed signs of slowing down. I think he was lucky to get a win over Adam Lopez and then against Christopher Diaz in his last two games although the draw seemed fair in the Diaz match. Both Lopez and Diaz appear to have injured Dogboe. However, Dogboe has adjusted his tactics in the match against Diaz and to a boxing match, the moves, the style in the rounds that followed. This seemed to confuse Diaz, and Dogboe scanned the last two rounds on all three of the referee’s cards to draw victory.
Gonzalez, 28, is a solid boxer. He looked good in his final match breaking and stopping the Filipino, Jeo Santisima, in the ninth round.
The fight looks like it will take place all 10 rounds but the industry price for the war going far is not attractive on 4/11. However, Gonzalez decisive win at 10/11 (-110) might be a good bet. The only time Dogboe lost in the gap was in his rematch with the relentless Emanuel Navarrete, and that bout went into round 12. Dogboe could punch but Gonzalez seemed to have a dominant chin.
Gonzalez looks bigger man (he’s taller and he’s been boxing at 126lbs for six years while Dogboe is only up from 122lbs two years ago). And although the fighters’ ages are about the same, Gonzalez doesn’t suffer as much wear and tear on his body as Dogboe. So one could make the case for Gonzalez to win decisively, perhaps with a bit of trouble over the 12/1 draw.
In the same show, we have an exciting match at 130lbs, with Gabriel Flores Jr, once one of the rising stars in the Top Ranking, facing Giovanni Cabrera, an undefeated male player. there are the last two in the Top Ranked matches. The odds are basically picking them for this internal match.
Flores, 22, was brought to school by hardline Mexican Luis Alberto Lopez last September. This is the only loss in Flores and’s recordto be fair, he was in the ring with a formidable boxer. However, in the next bout, Flores barely overcame another Mexican boxer, Abraham Montoya, by majority decision. I think Flores won clearly enough against Montoya, but he needed a strong finish in the last half to draw victory for the referees.
I wonder if Flores may only peak at 22. He’s talented but he showed in Lopez and Montoya’s duels that he’s uncomfortable when another man is fighting him so intensely.
While Cabrera doesn’t pressurize, he is good on shots and quickly gets out of range. I quite liked the look of Cabrera when he overcame the strong and tenacious Rudy Tellez of Mexico in January. But Cabrera played unimpressively in his next game as he secured a unanimous but tough decision against Argentina’s Elias Araujo, whose direct and overwhelming style has caused him plenty of problems. difficult. Although Cabrera won a unanimous decision against Araujo, he was deducted one point from holding the ball.
Both Flores and Cabrera boxed in major amateur tournaments. Flores was a U.S. national champion as a child, Cabrera lost in a split decision in his second match in the US Olympic trials.
Cabrera is 28 years old, so he’s a more mature boxer. Flores is probably the more naturally gifted, but Cabrera could be a problem if allowed to go into the hit groove and hold, hit and move his. And Cabrera works out at the Wild Card gym, so we can be pretty sure he’ll be the top starter. Celebrity trainer Freddie Roach will be at his corner on Saturday night.
I feel that Cabrera really doesn’t like Flores, who refused to shake his hand at a pre-match press conference. No one likes to be shunned like that. Cabrera fixed Flores with a cold look face to face.
This is a tough fight to call. Flores can prove that he really is the real oneby delivering an outstanding performance. But my suspicion is that the Cabrera has the style and length to win. I don’t feel confident enough in Cabrera to endorse him, but I would probably make a small investment in him myself.
Main image: Gonzalez (left) and Dogboe going to war tonight in Minnesota. Photo: Mikey Williams / Top Rank.
