This weekend’s boxing action should all be focused around one man. Oleksandr Gvozdyk – the WBC light-heavyweight champion – makes the first defence of his strap at the 175-pounds limit in the early hours of Sunday morning, …
however, at 1/33 to record a victory, it’s a fight worth avoiding if we are looking to make a profit this weekend. Gvozdyk has a huge future in the division – definitely one to look out for, for all the boxing purists out there!
So what’s the alternative, I hear you ask?! Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena welcomes a stacked card of better-matched boxing on Saturday night, the perfect antidote to last weekend’s lopsided event at London’s Copper Box Arena.
The headline fight is, in many ways, a strange blend of super-welterweight fighters. Former world champion Liam Smith looks to build his career again after suffering a damaging points loss over Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas, July last year. Sam Eggington’s career to date needs more than a few paragraphs to detail.
The 25-year-old admits getting into boxing to fight in the away corner as a journeyman, however, a string of victories and high-level performances have seen him climb the ranks in recent years, with notable losses continuing to stifle his natural talent. 5 losses, in total, all coming at different stages of his short career. The most recent was a second round stoppage against the un-fancied Hassan Mwakinyo in September last year; watching this fight will tell you everything you need to know about Sam Eggington’s style in the ring. ‘The Savage’ is a warrior. He walks onto fighters with his guard high, taking barrages of punches in order to land one. His left jab continues to fire even under the most overwhelming pressure, often to his detriment.
Eggington is drinking in the last chance saloon at the high-level. His record shows his limitations at anything beyond European level, and with Smith a classy-operator at a natural weight of 154-pounds, it’s hard to state a case for Eggington in Liverpool. Smith’s two defeats have come at the highest level. He dropped a ninth round KO loss to Canelo in 2016 in his only other loss besides that of Munguia.
Eggington’s narrative is hard to ignore. He’s arguably already achieved all that he wanted to in the sport, with journeyman aspirations well and truly superseded. His hunger may be questioned on Saturday night, with Smith looking to build towards another shot at world level – now under the promotion of Eddie Hearn.
Liam Smith to win by KO in rounds 1-6 @ 7/4 (BetFred)
Liam Smith to win by KO/TKO @ 1/2 (BetFred)
The undercard to this show will be one not to miss. Domestic rivals Scott Fitzgerald and Anthony Fowler lock horns at super-welterweight, with “Twitter-beef” over the last month adding fuel to this fire. Fitzgerald will come to fight, but Fowler is huge and powerful at the weight, with a stoppage win highly likely for the favourite.
David Price makes his return at heavyweight against Kash Ali, looking to revive his career having dropped three losses in his last five fights. The local-lad has now got six losses on his record, so can’t afford a further slip up against the unbeaten Ali. Price is heavily favoured by the bookies, and if there was one fight to have a small stake on the underdog, it’s this one. 4/1 for an Ali win is great value.
