IBHOF boxing and gambling expert Graham Houston looks for bet value on a busy weekend of Errol Spence vs Yordenis Ugas unification and Conor Benn return to action. with Chris van Heerden.
Exciting welterweight appeal Conor Benn has bet on such a favorite for today’s game against Chris van Heerden in Manchester (January 16 at Betfred) that the only value lies in the markets. different proposed fields. And we will get there. But first, let’s see how the fighters stack up.
South Africa’s Van Heerden is an interesting test for Benn. The 32-year-old male tennis player has a remarkable record (28-2-1, 12 KOs, 1 ND). His only injury-time loss was against Errol Spence Jr, who was a rising star at the time, and van Heerden made it to the last 16.
In theory, van Heerden could get Benn into the following rounds. One problem with this idea is that van Heerden becomes increasingly cut and swollen around the eyes. He has been arrested in his last three matches.
In his final game, in December 2020, van Heerden suffered a massive blow to his forehead in the opening matchup against Jaron “Boots” Ennis. An overhead clash caused cuts and the fight was deemed undecided, but Ennis managed to get van Heerden out of there.
The pressure and speed of the Ennis was too much for van Heerden to handle. And while we don’t compare Benn to Ennis – not quite yet – as a rule, he doesn’t waste much time chasing his opponent. And Benn unleashes quick, powerful punches once he’s closed the gap.
So the question is, can van Heerden keep Benn for 12 rounds? I don’t think he can do it.
The South African has good boxing skills but he doesn’t have much strength.
Back in 2016, van Heerden went hand in hand with the tough and belligerent Steve Claggett. Although van Heerden won the majority decision, it was a highly competitive contest. Claggett is always in there. But van Heerden suffered a cut in his eye and I noted at the time that he “seems easy to mark”. And that was six years ago.
However, van Heerden is brave, he has experience and he will never give up. But I see this war as two trains going in two different directions. Benn, 25, is on his way up, van Heerden is on his way down.
In his final bout, Benn put on his most impressive performance to date, knocking out seasoned Chris Algieri in the fourth round.
Meanwhile, van Heerden has only boxed once in the past 28 months, that is a undecided game against Boots Ennis. We have Benn, a young belligerent who will seek to hurt his opponent as early as possible in the fight. In this respect, he resembles his famous father, “Dark Destroyer” Nigel Benn.
Maybe van Heerden will be able to box, move and maybe let Benn down for four, five, six innings. But I didn’t see him do that in all 12 innings.
Proposal Benn KO/TKO is available at the overall price of 2/5 (-250). The “distance – No” clause is given at 1/3 (-300). These are not very attractive odds.
In split markets, however, Benn winning rounds 7-12 at 9/4 (+225) might be worth skipping. Van Heerden looked in dire condition at Friday’s heavyweight fight, he has the advantage of height and stature, and it just takes him to have the guts and savvy of a veteran to make it. can fight for a long time.
The big action on the pond shows Errol Spence Jr meeting Yordenis Ugas in a clash of the welterweight champions. But Spence was bet 1/6 (-600) favorite. I think Spence should pass. Spence is talking about KO. Not likely, but possible, and the odds aren’t bad at 9/4 (+225) if you feel “Truth” can be completed in 12 rounds.
But, for me, the battle of the weekend is in favor of Spence vs Ugas. I am referring to the absolute weight class match between Radzhab Butaev and Eimantas Stanionis.
I went back and forth but in the end I decided to go with Russia’s Butaev. He looks bigger and he has two wins against Stanionis in the amateurs, even though that was in the younger leagues a decade ago.
Butaev impressed me when he overpowered long and lanky Jamal James for nine innings to win the WBA title. James got past Butaev early, wiping out the first two rounds on the referee’s card, but he couldn’t keep the stronger Russian boxer off as the fight deepened.
Stanionis is an elite level amateur. He boxed for Lithuania in the Olympics and world championships. As a pro, he was 13-0 (9 KOs) but it had to be 14-0 because he beat veteran Luis Collazo before a clash resulted in an unwarranted verdict. He is 27 years old, 8 months younger than Butaev.
This is a meeting of boxers who like to go ahead and impose themselves on their opponents.
In his only loss, Butaev was defeated by southern Alexander Besputin in a 12-round match. (The ruling was changed to undecided because Besputin tested positive for a banned substance.)
Besputin used angles and movements. Stanionis is not a fighter. He applies steady pressure from behind a tall guard, which opens with punches to the head and body. Butaev doesn’t like backups. He is sure and does not stop trying. So we can see the type of fight as like two trucks meeting in an alley with only room for one to pass. Eventually someone will have to give way. Which one will it be?
I lean towards Butaev. Although his professional record was 14-0 (11 KOs), without having the decisive power in the match against Besputin, he had extensive experience in the professional style world boxing tournament. Stanionis is a fundamentally strong fighter and I like him a lot, but Butaev showed a fierce will to win the fight with Jamal James, as if he wouldn’t let anything stop him. stop him. In an equally tightly coupled fight, I’ve only seen Butaev dig a little deeper and draw a little less.
Main image: Benn (left) drove an experienced van Heerden (right) on Saturday night. Photo: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing.
