Boxing Picks 2018- Callum Smith vs Nieky Holzken (February 24th)

The World Boxing Super Series has been a revelation in the sport and the announcement for at least two more weight classes beginning their own eight man tournament is going to made in the weeks after the two Finals of the Super-Middleweight and Cruiserweight brackets have been completed.

The tournament has captured the imagination of the fans where the Super Six World Boxing Classic didn't although I think the injuries throughout the latter tournament really didn't help matters.

So far the World Boxing Super Series has avoided the big injuries, but that has not been the case in the last few days. George Groves suffered a dislocated shoulder in his win over Chris Eubank Jr which has put his participation in the scheduled June 2nd Final in doubt, while Juergen Braehmer had to remove himself from his Semi Final against Callum Smith with an illness.

It makes me wonder if Braehmar is perhaps considering the possibility of replacing Groves in the Final if the latter is injured and so didn't want to take any chances this week, but that has a hint of conspiracy around it and instead I have to take things at face value.

It's a difficult spot for Smith who travelled to Germany for this Semi Final and now takes on a substitute who only came in earlier this week. Difficult, but a fight I would still expect Smith to win.

Also on Saturday there is another Frank Warren bill being headlined by the likes of Anthony Yarde and Daniel Dubois as they continue their pro education. Both are expected to remain active in 2018 and win dominantly as they have so far in their careers.


Last weekend was a big night of boxing in Manchester and the headline bout between George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr did capture the imagination of the British fight fans.

In hindsight it is an even bigger surprise to me that Eubank Jr went in as the favourite than it was prior to the bout, although his performance earned my respect. Some of the boxing was pretty poor, but Eubank Jr showed incredible toughness and didn't give up which has to be respected no matter what you think of the man.

Like many others, I do think Eubank Jr is not fulfilling his potential by failing to use the tried and tested method of having a real trainer guiding him. Whether he changes or not is a question to be answered, but I struggle to see him beating the really big names either at Middleweight or Super-Middleweight barring some big changes.

Heart can get you so far as he has shown... But the next step needs to be more carefully laid out and Eubank Jr has some big decisions to make.

And no, I would not consider him for the Final if Groves is unable to go.


Over in the States there was more controversial scoring in Texas which saw Victor Ortiz somehow earn a draw with Devon Alexander (and prevented me going 4-0 with my picks last weekend). On another card Danny Garcia also returned with a punishing KO of faded Brandon Rios which has put Garcia in line to have another crack against Keith Thurman, although any rematch won't be scheduled until much later this year if not early 2019.

Anthony Yarde vs Tony Averlant

After the excitement of the Manchester Arena last weekend, this weekend is something of the calm before the storm ahead of a huge night of Boxing next weekend when Kell Brook, Jermall Charlo, Josh Taylor and Andre Dirrell's rematch with Jose Uzcategui all take place before the Deontay Wilder Heavyweight Defence against Luis Ortiz.

Some of the next generation of British talent do get a chance to showcase their talent this week and I am expecting comfortable nights for Daniel Dubois and Anthony Yarde.

This does feel like a keep busy kind of fight for Yarde and I am looking forward to the time when Frank Warren perhaps decides to step things up for him. There is a decent British domestic scene in which he can get involved although whether the British Title route is one Warren is plotting is not very clear.

Instead there has been talk of lining up something like a World Title eliminator or an actual Title shot later in the year, but this is a deep and stacked Division at the World level. Yarde will see more of that next week in New York City where two of the very best are involved in a couple of World Title fights, but for now it is just about getting things done, learning and staying active.

Tony Averlant doesn't provide too much of a threat for Yarde, but he may last a little longer than he did against Juergen Braehmer when stopped in the Second Round back in 2013.

The Frenchman has been durable enough to give Yarde some Rounds having only been stopped twice in nine defeats, but I do think the Yarde power will end up telling and eventually Averlant will be punished sufficiently for the referee to perhaps step in.

While I can see Averlant lasting a little longer than he did with Braehmer, I can't see him going longer than Nikola Sjekola who had never before been stopped before Yarde got him out of there in the Fourth Round. Sjekola had gone the distance with the likes of Callum Smith, Tyron Zeuge and Robert Stieglitz prior to that and I think it does highlight the kind of power Yarde has.

Having a small interest in this one to finish in either the Third or Fourth Round, which are the Rounds in which three of the last four Yarde fights have been concluded, is where I will go with this one.

Callum Smith vs Nieky Holzken

Having an opponent pull out just days before you are due to fight them has to be very, very difficult for Callum Smith to deal with, but the focus on reaching the Super-Middleweight World Boxing Super Series Final set to go at the O2 Arena in London has to offer plenty of motivation for the Liverpudlian.

The problem is that Smith has obviously been preparing for a completely different fighter in Juergen Braehmer who is vastly more experienced than the substitute Nieky Holzen and also fights in a southpaw stance.

There isn't a lot that Smith knows about Holzen and even the wider boxing fan will know there is a significant step up for the Dutchman. He is clearly tough having had success in other combat fields in his career, but this really is a sink or swim situation for Holzen having been thrown into the deep end of this Semi Final.

I like Callum Smith.

He is someone I have believed is capable of going all the way to World Title honours where some of his brothers have just failed to get to. However Callum has long been considered the best of the Smith fighting brothers from Liverpool and many have tipped him up to win this Super-Middleweight tournament.

Smith had a tough night against Erik Skoglund in the Quarter Final, but he was a handy winner and I think the Swede was just a legitimately tough fighter. Even then Smith put him down and the power should see him take out Holzen in this one too.

It may take a little bit of time as Smith perhaps waits to see what kind of fighter is in front of him. He may decide to fight behind the jab being the considerably bigger man in the ring and I think Smith will need to weather an early storm from Holzen who perhaps comes out swinging in a bid to surprise his opponent.

I'd expect Smith to have taken full control of this fight by the middle Rounds though and that is when the I think he will be able to put some of his punches together and find a stoppage. Weathering the early storm and start to time his punches should see the first Four Rounds enter the books, but backing Smith to get this done sometime from the Fifth Round to the Eighth Round looks a good place to be.

MY PICKS: Anthony Yarde Round 3-4 @ 4.00 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
Callum Smith Round 5-8 @ 2.87 Boyle Sports (1 Unit)

Boxing Picks 2018: 7-3, + 12.28 Units (18 Units Staked, + 68.22% Yield)