Boxing Picks 2018- Oleksandr Usyk vs Tony Bellew (November 10th)

There are some huge fights still to come before the end of the 2018 calendar year, but the biggest event that is going to take place in the United Kingdom comes from the Manchester Arena when Tony Bellew looks to cement his legacy as an all-time British great.

He will do that if he can beat Oleksandr Usyk, the undefeated, undisputed Cruiserweight World Champion with big ambitions of his own.

The World Boxing Super Series concludes the Quarter Final fights from the Season Two tournament on Saturday too, but all eyes of the Boxing world will be on Manchester where we also have a potential eliminator for a shot at Vasyl Lomachenko. Anthony Crolla would love to bring Lomachenko to Manchester in the New Year, but it all depends on whether he can win on Saturday.

David Allen, Josh Kelly and Ricky Burns are also on the undercard at the Manchester Arena ahead of a fight I am very much looking forward to.

David Allen vs Ariel Esteban Bracamonte

David Allen may not be the best technical Boxer out there but he has built himself a big following and is happy to get back in the ring whenever he can.

We may only be around seven weeks out from the end of the 2018 calendar year, but Allen is expected to be going out at least twice with one of those fights taking place on Saturday.

It has been a fun time to back David Allen having been behind him when he beat Nick Webb at the O2 Arena back in July and then stopping Samir Nebo in the First Round last month.

I think it will be another early night for The White Rhino on Saturday as this looks another tick-along fight before a bigger test for Allen in December. His opponent comes from Argentina and will be fighting outside his own country for the firs time in this his tenth professional fight.

Three of the last four Ariel Esteban Bracamonte fights have ended in the First Round including his one defeat. You can't always tell how these fighters will travel and I think David Allen will look to put Bracamonte under pressure from the off and can get another early stoppage to put on his resume.

Backing Allen to get this done in the first couple of Rounds was a productive selection last month and I think it could be the case again on the undercard at the Manchester Arena. At that point I expect Allen to be put in with a live fighter next month as he looks to reposition himself for a shot at the British or Commonwealth Title.

Ricky Burns vs Scott Cardle

This fight has been taken on short notice by Ricky Burns but it is a real crossroads fight for both the Scottish hero and Scott Cardle whose last meaningful fight saw him stopped in Second Round by Lewis Ritson.

It has the makings of a decent fight but I think Burns is still a level above Cardle and I do like his chances to win this one.

He wants to get back into a position to either have a rematch with Anthony Crolla, or perhaps be in an eliminator of his own, and Burns showed he still has something in the tank when losing to Crolla in a good fight.

The question for me is how much does Cardle have in the tank? He came out firing against Lewis Ritson in what were questionable tactics and I am a bit uncomfortable with how long he can last in this one if things start going wrong for him.

At least Cardle won't be overwhelmed by the power of Burns as much as he was against Ritson, but an accumulation of punches could have the referee or the corner thinking about pulling him out of this one.

Burns has fought at a much higher level than Cardle and I think he is going to be too good for him here. The latter could be competitive at times, but I expect Burns is going to pull away in the second half of the fight and he can win a comfortable Decision as long as Cardle is not asked to pull out of this one early.

Anthony Crolla vs Daud Yordan

This looks to be an eliminator for a shot at Vasyl Lomachenko so there is plenty of the line for both Anthony Crolla and Daud Yordan.

The smart money looks to be going down on the home fighter winning this one on a Decision, but Crolla has been making it clear that Yordan deserves plenty of respect.

And so he should be some solid road wins already under his belt, although I do question Yordan's punch resistance.

That's not to say Anthony Crolla is the biggest puncher in the world, but his intense pressure can break opponents and four of his thirteen career stoppages have come in his last eleven fights.

Like I say, the most likely outcome is Crolla gets this done on a Decision, but I am going to have a small interest on the Manchester man pressurising Yordan into a stoppage in the second half of this fight.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Tony Bellew

All the marbles are on the line in this Cruiserweight World Title fight and more and more are willing to openly state they are backing Tony Bellew to cause the upset against Oleksandr Usyk.

I am not one of those.

As strong as the wins over David Haye are for Bellew fans to hold onto, Haye is someway off where Usyk is these days and I think Bellew is going to have to produce a career best effort to win this fight.

The Bellew run at Cruiserweight and Heavyweight is impressive, but he has had close Decisions over Nathan Cleverly and Mateusz Mastarnak and this is clearly a much tougher fight than those two. Wins over Haye (twice), BJ Flores and Ilunga Makubu are good ones for Bellew but not half as good as his Sky backers would want you to believe.

Now he faces the undisputed best at this weight and a fighter who is coming in off two huge wins already in 2018. Oleksandr Usky was challenged by Mairis Breidis, but I think he showed he has a decent set of whiskers on him before completely shutting down Murat Gassiev.

I think both of those fighters would give Bellew all he could handle and I may even think Breidis could beat him. There is clearly some power in the Bellew punches, but I think that may be a touch overrated too and I am looking for Usyk to show why he is considered one of the pound for pound kings in the sport.

Usyk is not a concussive puncher and four of his last six have gone to the cards- I don't think Bellew will allow anyone to stop this fight barring the referee, but I also think Usyk will look to control the tempo and it will be difficult for him to stop the Liverpudlian who will put it all on the line in this one.

I don't know if Bellew has much more than a puncher's chance in this one, but I don't think Usyk is someone who will be caught too many times. He is smart enough to cancel out the Bellew tactics and I think Usyk will come through with a win on the cards even in a country where there have been some strange calls in recent times.

There are some out there who think Usyk forces the stoppage, but I think there are some big things in the pipeline for him and he won't push for it as Bellew tries to close the gap in the second half of the fight. I expect maybe one big push in the final couple of Rounds if Usyk has beaten the fight out of Bellew and the British fighter looks to at least get to the cards, but ultimately I think this will come down to a Usyk points win as he did in the last two World Boxing Super Series fights.

Usyk looks to be too smart to be dragged into a war and I think his adjustments will see him pull away in the second half of the fight.

MY PICKS: David Allen to Win Between 1-2 @ 2.75 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Ricky Burns to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Anthony Crolla to Win Between 7-12 @ 5.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Oleksandr Usky to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.75 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Mairis Breidis to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Krzysztof Glowacki @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)