We’re back in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend as Matchroom Boxing and Queensbury Promotions go head-to-head in a new, novel idea.
There will be a 5 vs 5 competition on Saturday night with a (confusing) points system, but we’re focussing on the bread and butter of the evening’s action narrowing in on three of the main events.
Let’s take a look at the 17/1 Acca we’ve thrown together for this weekend’s action, plus this weekend’s top betting offers.
Craig Richards to beat Willy Hutchinson by Decision/Technical Decision
It’s youth vs experience here, as Craig “Spider” Richards looks to teach Willy Hutchinson (nine years his junior) a lesson in Riyadh.
Richards is the betting favourite this Saturday, but will have to be wary of Hutchinson’s sharp counters and aggressive back-foot style.
But Hutchinson has never gone past the seventh round as a pro and Richards is savvy enough to drag him into deep waters and take this one on the scorecards in a disciplined display.
Richards’ recent 2-2 record is a bit of a red herring. He pushed top operators Dmitry Bivol and Joshua Buatsi to tight decision losses and arguably should have come away with something in at least one of them.
Ray Ford to beat Nick Ball by Decision/Technical Decision
Don’t blink during this one.
Both guys are teak tough, throw hundreds of punches a round and are guaranteed to put on a
show in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to protect their unbeaten records.
Ford stole the show back in March with a dramatic 12th round KO of Otabek Kholmatov to win
the WBA strap, whereas Ball was left frustrated by the scorecards having thought he has done
enough to win the WBC strap from Rey Vargas – a fight that ended in a draw.
But over the championship distance we’re siding with the sharpness of Ford and his ability to go through the gears when required.
Ball is tough, but might lack that star quality.
Zhilei Zhang to beat Deontay Wilder by KO/TKO/Disqualification
The battle of the big bangers headlines Saturday night’s card.
Both Zhang and Wilder know their way around a KO win, and both are coming to Riyadh off the back of a defeat trying to inject life back into their heavyweight careers.
A win for either could easily catapult themselves into a title shot as early as next year, but with a combined age of 79, it’s really a mystery what versions of each of these fighters will turn up fight-to-fight.
Wilder looked shot against Parker in his last outing and struggled to get his punches away. Zhang can often struggle with his gas tank, but holds the power to hurt Wilder early in this fight and potentially get the stoppage.
Wilder’s chin has a lot of question marks over it these days, so a Zhang KO win is where the value lies.
Top Boxing Betting Offers & Free Bets
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