International Boxing Odds Saturday – The sports books are looking at Saturday’s boxing calendar, as several fights from around the world are getting lines. None of the fights have particularly tight lines, but all feature fighters of note.
Scotland sees WBO world middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (23-0) defending his belt against Russia’s Arthur Akavov (16-1). For Saunders, it will be the first defense of the title he won last December when he defeated fellow countryman Andy Lee by majority decision to take the belt. It will also mark the first fight for the champion in 2016, as Saunders has spent the entire year talking about fighting but not doing any actual fighting. Saunders did engage in a series of challenges to middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin, but that match was never close to happening. If Saunders dispatches Akavov as he is expected to do, you can look for BJ to start talking Triple G again.
Former WBA world super middleweight champion Vincent Feigenbutz (24-2) vies for a vacant IBF regional belt against Mike Keta (21-3). The 21 year old Feigenbutz lost the world title to Giovanni De Carolis this past January, and he has stayed active, logging three fights since and going 3-0 with 3 stoppage wins. Those matches were at 8 rounds and against lesser competition, and here Feigenbutz steps back into a 12 round fight. Keta looks like a tough guy but his resume is strictly regional, and at 33 years old Feigenbutz has a 12 year advantage in youth.
Denmark’s remarkable 44 year old Lolenga Mock (37-14-1) is back for his six fight of 2016. Mock is actually 6-0 already since December of 2015 and that December fight broke a three year long inactive streak for Mock. He will be facing Argentina’s experienced Ruben Eduardo Acosta (32-14-5) in a ten round match that sees Mock a heavy favorite. Acosta is a veteran whose record sees him win in Argentina and lose when he fights outside of his home country. His resume has seen him fight a lot of names, including Denmark’s up and coming super middleweight Patrick Nielsen (28-1).
Kubrat Pulev (23-1) takes on Samuel Peter (36-5) for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title in Sofia, Bulgaria. Pule vis fighting at home here, and he is desperate to get back into the world title picture. His lone loss came in November of 2014 in a failed world title bid against Wladimir Klitschko, and that loss moved him back into a crowded pack of heavyweights. Since then Pulev has gone 3-0 but he is from tiny Bulgaria and does not have a huge backing of fans, and he has watched a lot of less seasoned heavyweights move ahead of him in the chase for a world title fight. This will be Peter’s third fight in the last five and a half years but he is still just 36 years old. For his lone fight in 2014 Peter weighed in at 291 pounds, so it will be interesting to see what type of conditioning he brings to this one.
International Boxing Odds Saturday
Lagoon Leisure Centre – Paisley, Scotland
Middleweight 12 rounds –
Artur Akavov +2500 o9½ -150
Billy Joe Saunders -5000 u9½ +120
Ufgauhalle – Karlsruhe, Germany
Super Middleweight 12 rounds –
Mike Keta +1000
Vincent Feigenbutz -1500
Ceres Arena – Aarhus, Denmark
Super Middleweight 10 rounds –
Ruben Eduardo Acosta +1100
Lolenga Mock -2300
Arena Armeec – Sofia, Bulgaria
Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Samuel Peter +1125
Kubrat Pulev -1750
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