Kovalev vs Shabranskyy Odds For Saturday – This coming Saturday, November 25th at the Madison Square Garden Theater in NYC the vacant WBO world title at light heavyweight will be disputed between Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1) and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (19-1).
Kovalev had unified the IBF, WBA and WBO world titles at 175 pounds earlier in his career but he lost the titles to Andre Ward and he failed to recover them in a rematch. Now that Ward has called it quits and retired, the belts were “vacant” and Kovalev has signaled he wants to unify the belts again. For Kovalev, the losses to Ward do not sit well. He feels he won the first fight and that the second fight he was fighting the judges and referees as well as Ward. Beating Shabranskyy convincingly would show that Kovalev is still capable of being top dog in the weight class. Tougher challenges than Shabranskyy await Kovalev should he win this Saturday night. Dmitry Bivol (WBA) and Artur Beterbiev (IBF) are newly crowned champions and the WBC belt is still held by Adonis Stevenson, so Kovalev’s path to title unification is set.
Shabranskyy is a solid fighter but he does nothing spectacularly well. With 16 knock outs in his 19 wins, he has power but bringing power to a fight with Kovalev is likely not enough.
Do not underestimate the Russia (Kovalev) versus Ukraine (Shabranskyy) rivalry as having an influence on this fight. The two of them do not like each other and that could spill over into the in-ring action.
An interesting super featherweight showdown between former world champions takes place in the co-feature spot as Jason Sosa (20-2-4) takes on Yuriorkis Gamboa (27-2). Sosa is coming off a loss to Vasyl Lomchenko back in April and he is looking for a chance to get back on the winning track. Sosa was originally scheduled to face veteran Robinson Castellanos but he had to pull out due to an injury.
Gamboa is in a must win situation. A former Olympic gold medalist and world champion, he has been plagued by problems both in and out of the ring. In his last fight this past August, he won a narrow decision in Mexico that saw Gamboa have three points deducted.
A second light heavyweight fight on the card sees Cuban contender Sullivan Barrera facing the Dominican Republic’s once beaten Felix Valera (15-1). Barrera is riding a solid three fight winning streak since he lost to Andre Ward back in March of 2016, and that streak includes a win over Shabranskyy. A win here would see Barrera pushing for another shot at a title.
Valera seems capable of playing spoiler. His resume is built up largely in his home country but he has a pair of fights in Russia, one of which saw him take IBF world champion Dmitry Bivol the distance.
Below are the odds for the fights listed above. Check back closer to fight time to see if any other fights have been added. Promoters Oscar De La Hoya and Kathy Duva are co-promoting the fight card, which sees nine fights planned for the live event.
Light Heavyweight 12 rounds –
Vyacheslav Shabranskyy +850
Sergey Kovalev -1300
Super Featherweight 10 rounds –
Yuriorkis Gamboa +215
Jason Sosa -255
Light Heavyweight 10 rounds –
Felix Valera +800
Sullivan Barrera -1250
Kovalev vs Shabranskyy Odds For Saturday / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
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