In a fairly quiet weekend in the boxing world, a couple of Friday cards grab my attention as we enjoy a breather after a stunning month of action. The heavyweights have been and gone, with a sprinkling of Golovkin in the middle; the remaining half of the year is sure to deliver with mouth-watering fights waiting to be made.
So this Friday’s British card heads back to York Hall in East London. The iconic venue is synonymous with all-action fights, with the close, hot and sticky atmosphere acting as added impetus for the fighters to deliver. Sweat dripping off the wall behind you as you peak over the balcony just feet from the action – there is no place like it in the UK.
One fight grabs the attention on this Matchroom NXTGEN card – Conor Benn vs. Jussi Koivula. Benn – like his father – loves a scrap. Willing to engage in warfare during fights has seen him labelled as one of the most entertaining fighters in Britain with a record of just 14-0. Benn will be defending his WBA Continental welterweight title on Friday – a trinket used for rankings purposes – against a Finnish fighter that can’t be underestimated.
The interesting point about this fight is the shift in the odds over this week. When I assessed the market on Monday you couldn’t get much better than 1/10 on a Conor Benn victory. The bookies had seemingly viewed this fight as another knock-over job for Benn, without looking at the bigger picture, as well as the vulnerabilities “The Destroyer” often shows.
Koivula went the distance with the rated Samuel Vargas in 2017. Losing a split decision on the cards, this level of experience will be priceless in this latest trip to foreign soil. Despite being 35, the patchy record of the challenger suggests he is willing to mix throughout the levels: Benn is a good match for him at this stage of his career.
Now priced at a more conservative 3/10 to get the victory, Benn has slipped into the realm of providing value in backing. He is susceptible to getting licks over the ten rounds, but as he showed against Cedrick Peynaud in their first fight, he’ll get up and keep fighting. With just 9 KOs on his record, it’s unlikely Koivula will keep Benn down on Friday; it’s also unlikely he’ll get him on the cards.
Conor Benn to win @ 3/10 (BetFred)
Andrew Cancio vs. Alberto Machado in a rematch of their February brawl is worth half an eye as well on Friday evening. It’s proving hard to source odds for this one (they may become available on Friday), but backing the challenger to regain his crown will offer value that you simply couldn’t get in the original bout.
It’s the old heart vs. head conundrum in a toss up between repeat and revenge. So often I find myself leaning towards revenge for the fallen champion after a shock defeat, assuming the lessons would be learned in the subsequent camp – maybe I’m the one that needs to learn the lesson of thunder so often striking twice in this sport.
Cancio dominated an aggressive fourth round in the first meeting with ferocious body attacks to the 5ft 10″ frame of Machado proving too much for the southpaw to handle. It all looked so different after the defending champion dropped Cancio in the opening round with a stiff uppercut – the Puerto Rican will be relying on his long levers to chop down the champion who will once again march forward attempting to walk through fire. I’m sticking to my guns with revenge. Machado is a freak at this weight and should be smart enough to negate the one-dimensional attacks of the champion. Providing he isn’t completely drained at the weight, he should regain his crown before moving up to lightweight.
