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Boxing Picks 2024- Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou (March 8th)

Knockout Chaos comes to our television screens on Friday evening with another big card put together by Saudi Arabia, who continue to have a ...

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Wednesday 13th March)

One more game from Jasmine Paolini and it would been another positive day at Indian Wells, but instead it is a day when the swing has been the other way.

At least Caroline Wozniacki avoided the collapse in the first set that might have swung the match entirely in the other direction as she allowed a 5-1 lead disappear and headed for a medical timeout.

Fortunately she rallied and it was Angelique Kerber who was struggling by the end of the match after her strongest week back on the Tour.


We head towards the business end of the tournament and this looks to be the last really busy day at Indian Wells.

There are some very good looking matches heading out to the court and the Tennis Picks from the day can be read below.


Tommy Paul - 4.5 games v Luca Nardi: Not every Lucky Loser will be able to make the kind of impact Luca Nardi has had at the Indian Wells Masters and his upset against Novak Djokovic means the Italian will crack the top 100 of the World Rankings for the first time.

He was a huge underdog in that Third Round match, which is no surprise, and there has been very little evidence from the hard court tennis played that Luca Nardi was going to be capable of competing with Novak Djokovic, never mind actually beating him.

Before the main draw in Indian Wells, the highest Ranked players Luca Nardi had faced this year was World Number 112 David Goffin and World Number 121 Sumit Nagal and the Italian managed to win just one set across those two matches.

Now he has beaten Novak Djokovic and Zhizhen Zhang, both in three sets, and Luca Nardi will be hoping to avoid an 'after the Lord Mayor's show' type of performance in the Fourth Round.

He is not helped by the fact he is facing Tommy Paul who has been enjoying a very strong 2024 season.

The American has won a title in Dallas and reached the Final in Delray Beach and Tommy Paul has looked very good in winning his opening two matches at Indian Wells. Those victories have been against players significantly Ranked higher than the one he will be facing in the Fourth Round and Tommy Paul has been serving and returning effectively in this tournament.

Tommy Paul's hard court numbers in 2024 have been very impressive and it will be tough for Luca Nardi to match the efforts of beating Novak Djokovic.

Serving well will help, but Paul is likely going to keep the Lucky Loser under pressure and that can give the World Number 17 an opportunity to wear him down.


Taylor Fritz - 2.5 games v Holger Rune: A bye and a walkover helped Holger Rune through to the Third Round where he was a solid winner over Lorenzo Musetti.

The World Number 7 will be well aware that the challenge increases greatly in this Fourth Round against Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells Masters Champion and a player looking to close back in on a place in the top ten of the World Rankings.

He won the title in Delray Beach and reached the Australian Open Quarter Final, but there has long been a feeling that Taylor Fritz should be destined for even more. The serve continues to be a huge weapon for the top American and this season Fritz has been backing that up with stronger returning.

The two wins in Indian Wells had to be expected and, much like Holger Rune, this is a considerable step upwards in terms of level of opponent.

Holger Rune may not look like a player with a huge serve, but he is very good at protecting this shot and is a better server than some may think. The problem this season has been the lack of consistent production when it comes to the return of serve and tha may end up being the difference between the two players on the day.

Last year Taylor Fritz was able to get the better of the returning numbers when beating Holger Rune in Miami and the conditions here may just suit the Fritz game a little more than in Florida.

Their meeting in Miami was closer than the final score may indicate, but Taylor Fritz can frank that twelve months later and he can get the better of the return in moving into another Indian Wells Quarter Final.


Casper Ruud - 3.5 games v Gael Monfils: All credit has to be given to the veteran Gael Monfils who continues to flash some of his very best tennis.

His win over Cameron Norrie has to be respected, but the Frenchman was out on the court for over three hours and this is another step upwards.

Casper Ruud is hard to trust to cover this kind of spread against a top player- he is a quality player, but the return game can be a little inconsistent on the hard courts and that will be an issue if Gael Monfils is really serving as well as he can.

However, you have to figure some fatigue is going to be at play and Casper Ruud can keep the pressure on with his own serve working effectively in the conditions. He should have an opportunity to hit through Monfils, as athletic and mobile as the latter is, and that should give Casper Ruud the advantage as he moves into another Quarter Final.


Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 games v Emma Navarro: We have yet to see Aryna Sabalenka produce her consistent best throughout one match, but the Australian Open Champion continues to plunder her way through the Indian Wells draw.

She will be tested by an ever improving Emma Navarro, although the concern for the American is that she has fallen away in some matches when things have turned against her.

Emma Navarro has a decent serve and she has solid groundstrokes, but the question is how she will deal with the obvious power edge coming from the other side of the court. Frustrating Aryna Sabalenka by hitting her marks on the serve will be key for Navarro, but you have to give the World Number 2 an edge when she is able to get into rallies on the return.

Aryna Sabalenka will attack the Navarro second serve, while her own serve is one that can offer up a lot of short balls.

As long as Sabalenka keeps the error count down, she should be able to keep some sustained pressure on Emma Navarro and that can see her wear down the home player.


Coco Gauff - 4.5 games v Elise Mertens: Heading into the Australian Open Semi Final, Coco Gauff was motoring at a very, very high level.

However, the defeat to Aryna Sabalenka has sparked a relative downturn in level and over the last month it has been much harder work for the US Open Champion.

She has found a way to win matches, but Gauff has not been able to cover some very big spreads and that makes it a little more difficult to trust her at this mark.

In saying that, Coco Gauff has found a way to put the pressure on the Elise Mertens serve and she has won all three previous matches against this opponent. The last two wins would have seen her cover this mark, even though the win at the US Open was earned in three sets, and the American can get the better of this opponent again.

Elise Mertens will be playing with confidence after beating Naomi Osaka, but that was a match that could have easily got away from her at 5-4, 30/30 in the first set. Losing that would have made it a very long road back and Coco Gauff is playing at a superior level to the returning Osaka.

Serving well will be key and there are likely to be a few breaks of serve, but Coco Gauff has managed six breaks in her last two matches against Elise Mertens. Hitting that mark again should give Gauff an opportunity to have one of her less stressful wins since the Australian Open.

MY PICKS: Tommy Paul - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Taylor Fritz - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Casper Ruud - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Coral (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 20-18, - 0.92 Units (76 Units Staked, - 1.21% Yield)

Tuesday 12 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Tuesday 12th March)

There was a lot of tennis to get through on Monday as the Third Round was completed at Indian Wells, but there has not been a bigger upset than Novak Djokovic being dumped out by a Lucky Loser.

While admitting his opponent did play well, Novak Djokovic was plenty critical about his own level of performance and this is something he will want to address in Miami and when the clay court season gets underway in April.

Something similar came out of his camp after the crushing loss to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open and there is little doubt that the rest of the field are getting closer to the World Number 1.

Novak Djokovic will go into the next three Grand Slams as the favourite, but the feeling is that the days of the Serb being an odds on favourite or a very short favourite to win Slams looks to be over.

He can make a mockery of that prediction by dominating the clay court season ahead of the French Open, while Novak Djokovic is still amongst the top two players in the world on a grass court, but it is only good news for Men's Tennis that players are not heading onto the court already defeated.


There looks to be positive news on the Rafael Nadal front with reports suggesting the issue picked up at Indian Wells is not one that should prevent him from lining up in the Monte Carlo draw.

You just hope Nadal can get through the tough clay court season and be well prepared, but most importantly healhty, when the French Open comes around as it seemingly looks more and more likely that this could be the final season he plays on the Tour.

Things can change if Rafael Nadal has a really strong nine months, but the body is not on the same page as the heart and mind and I can only hope he gets to go out on his own terms.


A positive run on Monday has turned this tournament back around for the Tennis Picks, but it still feels like a vulnerable position as we move into the Fourth Round at Indian Wells.

Tuesday does look a much tougher day to make predictions with some very good looking matches heading to the courts, but there are some selections made, which can be read below.


Stefanos Tsitsipas - 2.5 games v Jiri Lehecka: The improvements being made by Jiri Lehecka means he has to be massively respected ahead of this Fourth Round match at Indian Wells.

He has won a title on the hard courts and played well in big events in Dubai and now at Indian Wells and there is a feeling that his own belief is growing against some of the elite players on the Tour.

Beating Andrey Rublev will have Lehecka moving into this Fourth Round clash with a lot more confidence and his serving threat has to be respected.

However, he is facing an opponent in Stefanos Tsitsipas who looks to have bounced back from whatever has been ailing him.

That is reflected by his fall out of the top ten in the World Rankings, but Tsitsipas will force his way back into those positions if he can keep things rolling in Indian Wells. He has looked very good through the first two wins and Tsitsipas will have the slight mental edge over this opponent having beaten Jiri Lehecka in both previous matches on the Tour.

Both players have been solid servers in those matches, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has gotten a little more out of his return game.

The last of those matches was at the Australian Open in 2023 and there is little doubt that Jiri Lehecka has grown as a player since that match. The return against top 20 Ranked opponents have still not been quite up to top level, but Jiri Lehecka has won three of his five matches against those opponents on the hard courts this year, including beating Karen Khachanov in Dubai and Rublev in the Third Round here.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has a perfect 10-0 record when facing opponents outside of the top 20 in the Rankings and Jiri Lehecka is still trying to crack that mark in his career. This should be close and competitive, but the feeling is that the Greek player will have more of the Break Point opportunities and that can see him progress into the Quarter Final and cover this mark set.


Jasmine Paolini - 1.5 games v Anastasia Potapova: Confidence can be a funny thing in a sport like tennis and it can make all of the difference for a player.

Jasmine Paolini is playing with real confidence and it has seemingly come out of the blue.

Not many would have predicted that the Italian player would love opening matches in Linz and Doha and then win seven matches in a row to take home the biggest title of her career in Dubai and then progress into the Fourth Round at Indian Wells.

The numbers suggest it is not a sustainable run, but Jasmine Paolini will only worry about what she can produce on the courts as she prepares to face Anastasia Potapova for the first time.

The World Number 33 has been a comfortable winner in her opening two matches at Indian Wells and Anastasia Potapova has won nine of the fourteen matches played in 2024 on the hard courts. However, the challenge has been to beat a player Ranked higher than her and not those she is expected to beat and Potapova has won just one of four matches against those above her in the World Rankings.

Her serve has been ok in those matches, but Potapova has been struggling on the return.

However, she should have a bit more joy against this Jasmine Paolini serve, although the latter is likely to put Potapova under pressure with her own return.

The layers are not great believers in Paolini right now, despite her moving into a career high World Ranking mark. As stated, it looks like she is performing and producing results at an unsustainable level, but Jasmine Paolini does have enough quality in her return of serve to win this Fourth Round match.


Caroline Wozniacki v Angelique Kerber: The last time these two veterans met on the Tour was back in June 2018 when Caroline Wozniacki came from a set down to beat Angelique Kerber in the Semi Final at Eastbourne.

Both players are former Grand Slam Champions and both were amongst the elite on the Tour, but Wozniacki and Kerber have spent considerable time away in recent years as they have both become mothers.

Caroline Wozniacki retired and only returned at the back end of last year, while Angelique Kerber made it clear she would return to the Tour having spent the entirety of 2023 enjoying her life.

There have been similarities in the return to the Tour with both Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber struggling to find their best form on a consistent basis.

It has been different in Indian Wells and both players will be keen to progress to the Quarter Final and pick up some massive Ranking points at the same time.

The German leads the head to head 8-7, but it is Wozniacki who has a 6-5 lead in their hard court matches.

None of that really matters here, but it does mean there will be little to surprise the other in this big match.

In their limited time spent on court prior to Indian Wells, Caroline Wozniacki had perhaps shown a bit more competitiveness than Angelique Kerber. The former had at least pushed opponents and perhaps been a little unfortunate to lose matches, while Kerber had not really found anything near her best tennis when losing six of her first seven matches in 2024.

The two have performed well at this tournament, but the slight edge has to be with Caroline Wozniacki who is perhaps setting up a few cheaper points thanks to the first serve.

It cannot be ignored that Angelique Kerber has the more impressive wins having seen off two top 20 Ranked opponents and only having dropped a single set in those two wins. The return has been really effective from Kerber and made up for the lack of consistency on the serve and this feels like a match that will have a lot of breaks of serve throughout.

However, the slight edge is with Caroline Wozniacki on form at this tournament and in 2024 in general and she can get the better of her long-term rival in a big Fourth Round match.

MY PICKS: Stefanos Tsitsipas - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Jasmine Paolini - 1.5 Games @ 1.75 Coral (2 Units)
Caroline Wozniacki @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 19-16, + 1.26 Units (70 Units Staked, + 1.80% Yield)

Monday 11 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Monday 11th March)

There are a lot of moving parts on the week and that has restricted my time in getting this post out.

With the time change in the United States, we are now seven hours ahead of the tournament in Indian Wells so prepare for an earlier start for those this side of the pond and for another busy day with the Third Round being completed.

The last two days have produced a really disappointing return with those fine margins turning on the selections, but there is still time to get this tournament turned back around.


MY PICKS: Holger Rune - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Tommy Paul @ 1.95 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Taylor Fritz - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 Coral (2 Units)
Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Naomi Osaka - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 Coral (2 Units)
Maria Sakkari - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Elina Svitolina - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 14-13, - 1.12 Units (54 Units Staked, - 2.07% Yield)

Sunday 10 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Sunday 10th March)

The big names have largely come out firing at the Indian Wells Masters, although we have seen a number of withdrawals before matches have taken place too.

The WTA tournament has lost Marketa Vondrousova and Elena Rybakina from the draw, while Milos Raonic withdrew from the ATP event just a day after winning his match and against a Lucky Loser after Rafael Nadal decided to pull of the tournament as he continues his recovery from injury.

For the main part, it is a tournament that moves into a strong looking lineup in the Third Round.

To win a Masters 1000 event, players will know they to deal with the challenges that come and it usually means having to win big matches. The draw has put together a strong schedule on Sunday when the Third Round gers underway with eight matches in both the ATP and WTA Tournaments set to be played.


A disappointing Saturday has just pulled back the numbers from the Indian Wells tournament.

The opening three days of Picks had been productive enough, but that was not the case on a 1-3 day on Saturday and so the pressure is on to bounce back and try and make sure this Indian Wells event with a positive number.


Stefanos Tsitsipas - 3.5 games v Frances Tiafoe: At his best, Frances Tiafoe is capable of beating most players on a hard court, but we have not really seen that from the American in 2024.

Asking Stefanos Tsitsipas to cover this kind of line is not always ideal, especially on the faster surfaces with the return game not as effective as some of the top players on the Tour.

He has lost three of his last four matches against Frances Tiafoe and the last two have both been on the hard courts and after Stefanos Tsitsipas had won the first set.

Overall it has been a strong return to the Tour for Tsitsipas in 2024 and he has been returning with a bit more effectiveness than we have come to expect. Maintaining those levels on this surface will be the challenge for the Greek star, but this may be an opportunity for him to reach the Fourth Round in Indian Wells behind a solid win.

Overlooking Frances Tiafoe would be a mistake, but it has been a tough opening two months for the American and that could show up here.


Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games v Jiri Lehecka: Strong wins have been a feature of Andrey Rublev's season and even the outburst in Dubai that led to a harsh disqualification will not have dented the confidence.

Beating an in-form Andy Murray will only have added to the belief and Andrey Rublev can get the better of Jiri Lehecka again.

He beat him here in Indian Wells last year, although Jiri Leheckha has produced stronger hard court performances in 2024 than he managed overall in 2023.

The serve is still a big weapon for Lehecka, but he has found a little more out of the return game and that has proven to be a difference maker in turning some results in his favour. Jiri Lehecka will know that his return will be tested by a strong, aggressive server like Andrey Rublev, but it will give him belief that he can turn that loss to Rublev around.

Andrey Rublev will know there is room for improvement in his own return game- he has perhaps not played the Break Points as well as he can, but the opportunities are expected to be created and that could lead to a solid win for the higher Ranked player.

MY PICKS: Stefanos Tsitsipas - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Anna Kalinskaya - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 13-10, + 2.88 Units (46 Units Staked, + 6.26% Yield)

Saturday 9 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Saturday 9th March)

The Indian Wells Masters continues on Saturday with the Second Round set to be completed and it is likely to be another busy day on the courts.

With improving weather, it looks a good day for tennis and the selections from the matches scheduled to be played can be read below.

The full Indian Wells numbers will be in the Sunday thread when moving into the Third Round at the tournament and that is largely down to the limited time I've had being used to put the research together ahead of this first Saturday at the event.


MY PICKS: Cameron Norrie - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Tomas Machac - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Sorana Cirstea - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Anhelina Kalinina - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Friday 8 March 2024

Indian Wells Masters Tennis Picks 2024 (Friday 8th March)

It was another premature ending to the Indian Wells schedule of play on Thursday and that means a few First Round matches have to be shoehorned into Friday when the Second Round gets underway.

The next two days are busier than expected and that means there is not enough time to put down any thoughts for the selections, but instead it will be short threads with those made.

Seeded players are in action on Friday and it has been a positive start to the tournament, albeit only a start.


MY PICKS: Alex De Minaur - 5.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)
Stefanos Tsitsipas - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)
Nicolas Jarry - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)
Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Alexander Bublik - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Karen Khachanov - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Jelena Ostapenko - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 6-4, + 2.48 Units (20 Units Staked, + 12.40% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2024- Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou (March 8th)

Knockout Chaos comes to our television screens on Friday evening with another big card put together by Saudi Arabia, who continue to have a major influence on a number of sports.

In recent week/months, the likes of golf, tennis and snooker have all begun to offer partnerships with Saudi Arabia, or have sports directly taken over, while Formula One will be here this weekend.

Boxing events need the cash influx to really put the fights together that the fans want to see and, to that end, it has been a positive financial boost not only for the fighters and promoters, but also for the fans.

Of course it is almost impossible to disregard other issues, but that will not stop people tuning in for another big night of Heavyweight Boxing.

And if the investments being made continue to be made, the likes of Conor Benn vs Manny Pacquiao and Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol may be the next big cards to be headlined in the country.


At least we are getting some of the big fights together, but the same cannot be said of Canelo Alvarez who has yet to announce his next bout despite the rumoured May 4th date fast approaching.

It looked like he was leaving his contract with PBC, who have been rumoured to be struggling financially, was coming to an end, but the latest seems to be that there has been a breakthrough in the talks and Canelo's next fight will be under the PBC banner.

The only real disappointment is that David Benavidez is very unlikely to be standing on the other side of the ring- no one will deny Canelo Alvarez has achieved enough in Boxing to make his own decisions as to who to face next, but holding the Super Middleweight Belts hostage while avoiding the clear top contender is not a good look.

David Benavidez looks like he will bid to close other serious options to Canelo by moving up to Light Heavyweight and pursuing the Undisputed Titles at that weight instead. He has admitted he can go back down to Super Middleweight too and will be looking to operate between the two Divisions, but for now it looks like the big showdown between the Mexican Monster and the icon Canelo Alvarez will have to wai at least six months and possibly even twelve months.


March looks to be another solid month of Boxing action, but it is the Easter Weekend which really looks to be the exciting one to tune in for.

That is when PBC's first card with Amazon is set to go headlined by Tim Tszyu vs Keith Thurman, while I am really looking forward to the Fabian Wardley vs Frazer Clarke bout on the same weekend in London.

Dillian Whyte is also back this week having had his suspension for failing a test overturned and he will be returning as the headline act in Ireland on St Patrick's Day.

But before we get to all of the excitement of the rest of the month, a big card in Saudi Arabia will be looking to deliver the Knockout Chaos that fans love to see.



Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou

I did have to go back and remind myself of how I felt when Tyson Fury was set to face Francis Ngannou back in October.

The feeling was that Tyson Fury would not want to risk his Undisputed Fight with Oleksandr Usyk, which had been signed off for December, but the best laid plans can be scuppered one a single punch in the Heavyweight Division.

Francis Ngannou landed that and put Fury down, but the latter did enough to earn the victory on the cards, even if some felt it was controversial.

That performance has made Ngannou a much more dangerous looking fighter and he now has an opportunity to face Anthony Joshua.

A big performance against Otto Wallin has just reminded fans of the 'old' Anthony Joshua and there is little doubt activity has been a big help. The carrot at the end of the stick is that a win here will have the Saudi Arabian investors pushing to set Anthony Joshua up with the winner of the Fury-Oleksandr Usyk Undisputed Fight in May.

You have to accept that Francis Ngannou looked decent enough in the fight with Tyson Fury, but that was a poor outing from Fury. There is little doubt that he was not nearly as prepared as he would have been if he had seen a performance like that from Francis Ngannou before, while the style may actually have suited the novice coming across from the world of MMA.

This time Anthony Joshua will have known that Ngannou is dangerous and that will mean he is fully focused on the task at hand.

And that should be bad news for the underdog, even if he makes a point that a fight outside the boxing ring may play out very differently, especially if it was taking place in the Octagon.

Unfortunately for Francis Ngannou, this fight is not taking place anywhere but a Boxing ring and the fundamentals of Anthony Joshua should make him a bigger favourite than the layers believe.

He is plenty strong and Anthony Joshua looked to have really gotten on board with what was asked of him by new trainer Ben Davison. The game plan will likely see Joshua working behind his jab and trying to force Francis Ngannou to move and have to exert a lot of energy early on.

The Cameroonian former UFC Heavyweight Champion did gas some in his fight with Tyson Fury and the feeling is that Anthony Joshua will look to keep things long and use those fundamentals of Boxing to keep Ngannou off-balance and ultimately wear him down.

Going the full Ten Rounds may not be a massive surprise, but the feeling is that Anthony Joshua may be able to let go of enough big shots to force a Stoppage in the second half of the fight. Once the gas tank empties, Francis Ngannou might overcommit to trying to land the one big, fight changing punch, but that could play into Anthony Joshua's hands as he looks to make sure everyone can see that he has gotten the better of how Tyson Fury did for a second bout in a row.

Styles make fights and the feeling is that this one might suit Anthony Joshua more than Tyson Fury and the former Unified Champion can put a statement performance on the board.


The Day of Reckoning card in December seemed to be loaded from top to bottom and it was never going to be easy to replicate that.

However, the card for this event is still decent enough for those tuning in for an early evening of Boxing.

Sad news was revealed by Kevin Lerena on Thursday when announcing the passing of his mother, but he has declared that he will still enter the ring against Justis Huni.

Plenty of fighters have found motivation out of such sad circumstances and Huni is not nearly as good as his strong favouritism for the bout suggests. The Australian might still do enough, but Keven Lerana is a big price and one that may intrigue some out there.

We have seen him put down Daniel Dubois, whose reputation is pretty decent after giving Oleksandr Usyk some problems and then outworking Jarrell Miller, so Kevin Lerena might be a very big price to earn a victory.


One of the more surprising fights on the undercard features Mark Chamberlain taking on Gavin Gwynne and there is a school of thought that may believe the latter is struggling to get down to the weight.

He is facing a big puncher and Gavin Gwynne was hurt in his last win against a veteran Italian with only a surprising injury turning the tide in that bout.

This may be a good time for Mark Chamberlain to take the step up and he can become the second man to stop Gavin Gwynne as he continues his development towards a World Title.


A fight that looked to be taken off the card after some uncertainty has been restored to the card and Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov are going to be facing off for a vacant World Title.

That has only increased the status of what looked like being a very good fight before the WBA Light Middleweight Title was attached and it is no surprise that Madrimov is the favourite.

Both may have unbeaten records, but Liam Smith will feel he was robbed when losing on the cards to Kurbanov in Russia in 2021.

Like his opponent, Magomed Kurbanov had some trouble in beating Michel Soro in his last fight, while he is also travelling for the first time.

I do think Israil Madrimov will win the fight, but the doubt over the issue that almost saw him withdrawn from the card makes it that much more difficult to make a selection with any kind of confidence.


However, there is a bit more belief in Nick Ball and it really feels like the British fighter is getting his shot at the WBC World Featherweight Title.

Wrecking Ball has really impressed as he has continued his unbeaten progress as a professional and he gets the opportunity to become a World Champion in just his tenth fight. There is every chance Nick Ball will be back in Saudi Arabia for the five vs five card putting rivals Matchroom and Queensberry into direct competition with one another, but much will depnd on Ball winning this fight.

Rey Vargas is the much taller fighter and he has moved up the weights to become a World Champion in different Divisions, but last time out he took a step too far when losing his unbeaten record to O'Shaquie Foster.

His last defence of this World Title saw Rey Vargas put down and having to win by Split Decision and it felt like his move to Super Featherweight had been down to struggles in making weight.

The Champion has the length and the qualities to try and keep Nick Ball at bay, but the feeling is that the fresher fighter will be willing to do what it takes to get close. Once there, Ball can certainly hurt Rey Vargas to the body, especially if weight is a factor and this could be a huge night for the Liverpudlian.

Nick Ball is unlikely to allow Rey Vargas to coast at any time and if there are any doubts about this weight Division or whether the hunger is still there to compete, the Challenger can certainly exploit that and win the World Title without needing the judges on the night.


Some have suggested the real main event on this card is the big Heavyweight fight between Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, who is putting his Interim WBO World Title on the line.

Both of these fighters had very strong 2023 calendar years- Parker upset Deontay Wilder, while Zhang upset Joe Joyce twice and in big Knock Out wins.

The second of those was very impressive, but this is going to be a different challenge for Big Bang against an opponent who should be much more elusive than Joyce has tended to be.

Beating Wilder is a huge performance, but the whole idea of Joseph Parker being on some massive resurgence since losing to Joe Joyce is perhaps overplayed. Credit has to be given to him for beating the former WBC Champion in December, but you have to wonder how much of that was down to an inactive Deontay Wilder and one who seemed to struggle to want to let his hands go.

Prior to that win, Joseph Parker had beaten Jack Massey in an underwhelming performance before Stopping Faiga Opelu in a Round and Simon Kean in the Third Round.

Those are wins that are hardly the most impressive.

On the other hand Zhilei Zhang's reputation has been greatly enhanced by those wins over Joe Joyce, but some will feel he should have been given the nod when he lost a tight fight to Filip Hrgovic. Conditioning is a big test for Zhang at 40 years old, but he hits hard and fast and that makes him dangerous.

The expectation is that Joseph Parker will not be nearly as hittable as Joe Joyce and he will feel he can outwork Zhilei Zhang once getting through some of the awkward early Rounds.

However, he cannot expect Zhang to be as patient or inactive as Deontay Wilder and that is what makes this an intriguing contest.

Both know that they are perhaps a win or two away from another World Title shot and so they cannot afford to overlook one another. Activity has helped Joseph Parker, but he still has something to prove, while Zhilei Zhang looked really good on the scales.

Styles make fights and rarely does Boxing work where Fighter A beats Fighter B and Fighter B beats Fighter C so Fighter A should beat Fighter C. The style of Joseph Parker should definitely give Zhilei Zhang more to think about than when he faced Joe Joyce, but there is also more likelihood that Zhang will give Parker more to think about than a surprisingly passive Deontay Wilder did.

This makes this a hugely intriguing fight to watch as the chief support.

It really does feel like either Zhang gets this one done through the first half of the contest or Joseph Parker is going to be able to really take control as the gas tank runs down for the Interim Champion.

The lean has to be with Zhilei Zhang to earn another Stoppage win and that is largely down to the fact that there have been signs that Joseph Parker is not as granite as he once was. Recent wins have covered up some of the shortcomings, but Zhang is not likely to be put his hands in his pockets as Deontay Wilder did in December and he will test how much Parker has left.

Ultimately it may be enough to secure the win inside the distance with the speed of the hands and the power in both that could just break down Joseph Parker in what should be another quality Heavyweight contest.

MY PICKS: Anthony Joshua to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Mark Chamberlain to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Nick Ball to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.75 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Zhilei Zhang to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Boxing 2024: 11-14, + 10.05 Units (40 Units Staked, + 25.13% Yield)