Boxing Picks 2023- Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara (February 18th)

Since the last set of Boxing Picks at the beginning of the month we have started to see a Heavyweight April being announced as the likes of Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce return.

The heavily rumoured Unification between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been targeted for the end of that month too, while the DAZN schedule was announced until the end of May and it looks like we are going to have some good cards.

Of course Boxing wouldn't be Boxing if we were still not waiting on some big announcements.

The Heavyweight Unification is one, but we are still waiting to hear if Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia will finally agree to also meet in April. The likes of Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford are still waiting, although likely facing other opponents rather than each other, and of course Canelo Alvarez should soon be announcing his May return.

One fight that has seemingly come out of left field is Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez... Eighteen months ago that was a monster fight, but both have lost some of their stardom after controversial wins.

Even then, it is a big fight that could be announced for late May/early June.

Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara

There hasn't been the kind of fanfare around this fight that it really deserves, and I really don't think that is fair on Leigh Wood.

After the storming comeback to beat Michael Conlan, Leigh Wood should be given a whole heap of credit for taking this fight as one he has chosen.

And the fact he has suggests the team feel they have seen something to exploit in Mauricio Lara, who is most famous for demolishing Josh Warrington. The Mexican has continued his upward trend after that win and this is an extremely dangerous fighter and not one that would have expected to have been given an opportunity without forcing a mandatory.

Unsurprisingly the Lara camp feel that Leigh Wood and his team have made a massive mistake and I would be extremely disappointed if the styles don't gel.

Both are going to want to land power punches and I really would not be surprised if both fighters hit the deck.

However, I think the pressure that Mauricio Lara will come with is going to prove to be decisive, despite Leigh Wood carrying plenty of power of his own.

The home fighter has that ability to really hurt a wild Lara, but I can't shake how badly Leigh Wood was hurt by Michael Conlan and the Mexican in this one is expected to hit that much harder. If he hits Wood and hurts him like Conlan did, Mauricio Lara has more than enough in his arsenal to make sure the Champion is not able to get out of trouble and I think it will be another disappointing home outing for a British World Champion against Bronco.

In other fights on the card, Dalton Smith should show why there are levels to Boxing as he prepares for the a homecoming in April with a routine win.

Another who should not have to work the distance is Gary Cully who has been put on the card to further enhance his reputation before fighting back at home on the Katie Taylor card in May. He will want to impress his new promoters to show he deserves to be on that card and can beat his unbeaten American opponent.

Cheavon Clarke has yet to be pushed beyond Four Rounds as a professional and I think that may be unlikely on Saturday.

MY PICKS: Mauricio Lara to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.50 Bet365 (2 Units)

Dalton Smith to Win Between 1-4 @ 2.40 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Gary Cully to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.62 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Cheavon Clarke to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.61 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing Update 2023: 2-5, - 5.40 Units (13 Units Staked, - 41.54% Yield)

Super Bowl LVII Pick 2023- Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles (February 12th)

I actually can't quite believe the NFL season is coming to an end, but here we are in mid-February with just the Super Bowl to be played.

My pick from the big game can be read below in what has been another up and down season.

Back in September I did have both of these teams amongst my leading contenders to win the Super Bowl, although the Eagles have perhaps been a much bigger surprise for most. However, they look the team to beat now and I think the narrow favourite for the Super Bowl are likely going to find a way to come out on top on Sunday too.

Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles Pick: It has felt this might be the Super Bowl clash the fans would be most excited about for a while and the top two Seeds in both the AFC and NFC have both made it through to the Super Bowl LVII.

The Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) have won both of their PlayOff games without too much fuss, although they did earn a Championship Game win over a San Francisco team that did not have a Quarter Back who could throw the ball. There has been plenty of saltiness from the 49ers since the win, although I did think the Eagles would have won anyway, but this team have not been tested nearly as much as the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3).

Both of the Chiefs wins have come by 7 points or fewer against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals and there were plenty of controversy about the win over the Bengals. Some of the officiating was questionable to say the least, but the Chiefs did earn their place in the Super Bowl and they are a much experienced team when it comes to dealing with playing in the big game in February.

Head Coach Andy Reid is facing his former team, one that he guided to the Super Bowl before falling narrowly short against the New England Patriots. He has since won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, but they are 1-1 in the Super Bowl under Andy Reid and the AFC have lost the last two Bowls.

The big question for the Kansas City Chiefs is the health of Patrick Mahomes- the reality is the Chiefs can only really go as far as their Quarter Back will take them and he has had two weeks to get over the ankle injury suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round. Personally I am not sure Mahomes can really hope to be at full health, but he is one of a couple of positions on both sides of the ball where the Kansas City Chiefs may feel they have the edge over the Philadelphia Eagles.

However, we saw how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to crush the Patrick Mahomes chances two years ago and the Philadelphia Eagles will feel they can slow down this passing game. It has not been as explosive as it was when Tyreek Hill was playing for the Chiefs, while the Philadelphia Eagles Secondary is amongst the best in the NFL and have played at a high level all season.

Stopping Travis Kelce is unlikely, but the Eagles will feel they match up really well with the Wide Receivers that Kansas City will trot out onto the field. There is also the pass rush pressure that the Eagles can generate without having to send the house after the Quarter Back and I do think that will make life tough for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City passing game that has shown an ability to break open the deep threat for much of the season.

As long as he is close to being at full health, Mahomes Magic is likely to be seen at times and you have to have a healthy respect for this Quarter Back and all he has achieved since entering the NFL. And as long as the Coaching staff respect the game, the Chiefs should be looking to establish the run and try and open passing lanes by pounding the rock.

It is not something that Andy Reid enjoys, but the Eagles have continued to show a weakness to the run even when signing veterans to try and plug the Defensive Line holes. Patrick Mahomes is capable of moving the ball with his legs too and I do think the Chiefs have to try and keep the Eagles as honest as possible while this game is close and competitive.

Anything else and it is the Eagles pass rush that may get on top and help the strong Secondary make some big plays for Philadelphia as they look for a second Super Bowl title in six years.

This time the Philadelphia Eagles will be led not by a Quarter Back that has ended the season in hot form, but one that has been a season-long success. Jalen Hurts might not have won the MVP, but that might not be a bad thing considering the last nine winners have all lost when making the Super Bowl (by the way, Patrick Mahomes won this year).

The Quarter Back has proven to be an integral part of the Philadelphia Eagles Offensive unit and the way they want to operate- everyone knows the Eagles want to establish the run and that opens thing up for their big time Receivers, but they are much harder to contain with the threat that Jalen Hurts presents in the RPO approach.

As improved as the Kansas City Defensive unit have been, they have also remained a unit that is weak at controlling the run and this is where I think the Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Line could have a big edge. If the Eagles pound the ball as we know they can, extended drives to wear out the Kansas City Defense will come with the added bonus of keeping Patrick Mahomes and the Offense sitting and cooling down on the sidelines.

I think that is the way the game is going to shake out on this side of the ball, while Jalen Hurts is operating behind a strong Offensive Line that has given him plenty of protection and time when he does want to throw to the likes of AJ Brown. Even a tough Chiefs pass rush may not be able to rattle the Quarter Back and especially not if the Eagles are moving the ball effectively on the ground and just getting those pass rushers wondering when to crash into the line.

Lane Johnson has not been a full participant this week in practice, but he has had two more weeks to deal with an injury suffered towards the end of the regular season and is pivotal to the Eagles chances of success.

I do like Philadelphia to edge this game and it should be a good one.

They just look to have more players that can make an impact across the board on both sides of the ball and Patrick Mahomes may not be able to produce enough magic to drag the Chiefs over the line, at least not with more eyebrow raising calls from the officials as we saw in the AFC Championship Game.

I expect Kansas City to take plenty of motivation from the fact they are the underdog, but they are just 1-1 against the spread in that position this season. At the same time the Philadelphia Eagles are 7-4 against the spread when favoured by less than a Touchdown and I do think they have been the best team in the NFL this season.

Opposing Patrick Mahomes is never easy, but this looks like being a second defeat in the Super Bowl for the Quarter Back as Philadelphia's Defensive unit make a late play to close the Kansas City rally.

MY PICK: Philadelphia Eagles - 1.5 Points @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2023 (February 10th)

The positive results largely continued on Thursday, although I am disappointed that Beatriz Haddad Maia could not have served out her match on two occasions in the second set.

That meant a 2-1 day for the Tennis Picks rather than the sweep, but I was perhaps fortunate to get away with the Daria Kasatkina selection and so just pleased to come away with a positive return.

I have only one Pick from Friday and that comes from the last of the Abu Dhabi Quarter Final matches scheduled to be played.

Veronika Kudermetova - 1.5 games v Liudmila Samsonova: We are down to the last eight in the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi and six of the players remaining in the draw are going to be inside the top 20 of the World Rankings when the new list is released next Monday.

Both Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova are either going to be at career best World Rankings or close to career best World Rankings with a strong end to the event in Abu Dhabi and that brings plenty of motivation to the court. I expect both players to also look ahead and feel they can have a real impact at Grand Slam level, even if both Veronika Kudermertova and Liudmila Samsonova had disappointing Second Round exits at the Australian Open.

Veronika Kudermetova is a top four Seed in Abu Dhabi and that meant she earned a Bye into the Second Round where she was a strong winner over Elise Mertens. Things have been tougher for Liudmila Samsonova who has had to win two matches this week, while the lower Ranked Russian player needed almost two and a half hours to beat Barbora Krejcikova in the Second Round on Thursday.

Winning in straight sets is a bonus, and it feels like Liudmila Samsonova has the stronger first serve of these two players. However, I have to give an edge to Veronika Kudermetova when it comes to protecting the second serve and she has shown a little more authority on the return on the hard courts, which could prove to be a key to the outcome of this Quarter Final.

I have to give a lot of credit to Liudmila Samsonova and the form she has shown when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months and she does hold a 4-1 record in those matches in that time span. That clearly underlines the progress that has been made by Samsonova to reach a career best World Ranking, but Veronika Kudermetova has shown she has plenty of toughness when facing the best players on the Tour on this surface.

Veronika Kudermetova has also won the last two matches against Liudmila Samsonova, including a victory in their sole hard court match back in 2021 at Indian Wells. That slight mental edge could prove to be decisive when it comes to the critical moments in this set and I think Kudermetova can find a way to edge past her compatriot and reach the Semi Final here with a cover of the mark.

MY PICKS: Veronika Kudermetova - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 5-3, + 2.26 Units (16 Units Staked, + 14.13% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2023 (February 9th)

It was a shame that Anett Kontaveit was not able to finish her match against Shelby Rogers when it looked like the Tennis Picks were going to have a clean sweep of winners on Wednesday.

The tournament in Abu Dhabi is where the focus will be again for the Picks as the Second Round is completed in the sole 500 event of the week.

Now the numbers are in a positive place for the week, I am looking for a strong final four days in a bid to keep the winning momentum going.

Beatriz Haddad Maia - 2.5 games v Yulia Putintseva: The top of the WTA Tour is open enough for a number of players to really believe they can win a Grand Slam title in the coming years.

Without a dominant Champion, anyone playing on the Tour can get hot enough over a two week spell and run through a draw and there have been a number of surprising Champions crowned in recent years. Having that in mind, there is little doubt that Beatriz Haddad Maia will have been massively disappointed with her First Round upset loss at the Australian Open and especially when you consider the improvements the Brazilian has made on the Tour over the last eighteen months.

She did need three sets to win her First Round match in Abu Dhabi, but Beatriz Haddad Maia will feel better for the victory having lost her last two matches on the Tour. The lefty had a decent January before the loss in Melbourne and her game continues to operate effectively on the hard courts.

My numbers had her down as a stronger favourite than the layers when she is set to meet Yulia Putintseva in the Second Round on Thursday, although I have a healthy respect for the capabilities of the lower Ranked player. While not being in possession of any great shot, Putintseva can get around the court and test players and their ability to find the big shots consistently, while the return is a strength of her tennis.

It needs to be with a vulnerable serve and Yulia Putintseva deserves more respect having won three matches in Abu Dhabi having fought through the Qualifiers. The win over Bianca Andreescu in the First Round is a good one, but it has been tougher going in the early part of 2023 when Yulia Putintseva has been pitting against top 100 Ranked opponents.

Yulia Putintseva has suffered particular hardship when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months and she has found her second serve and return game has not been able to stand up against the best players on the Tour. The Kazakhstani player has lost two matches to those top 20 players just last month and both were in pretty routine fashion.

Beatriz Haddad Maia can serve effectively with the lefty side making things tougher for the return player and I do think she will be able to get on top of enough return games to win this match and cover the handicap line set.

Elena Rybakina - 3.5 games v Karolina Pliskova: It will be interesting to see how Elena Rybakina handles the disappointment of coming within one match of becoming a multiple time Grand Slam Champion. At least the Kazakhstan Number 1 has earned her rightful place within the top 10 of the World Rankings and Elena Rybakina would be considerably higher if her Wimbledon Ranking points had not been scrapped by the WTA Tour.

She makes her return in Abu Dhabi where some of the top players on the Tour have come together to try and win a big title in what is a couple of big months of hard court tennis. The performance in Melbourne shows that Elena Rybakina is a threat at every Grand Slam that will be played, even on the clay courts where some would feel her power is perhaps not as effective as on the faster surfaces.

Elena Rybakina has shown she is a player that can deal with the moment effectively and I do think the time off would have done her good.

However, she will also be under a different pressure which comes with the increased expectations that her run in Melbourne would have generated. Despite being the Wimbledon Champion, Rybakina has not been under the same spotlight as she may experience now and the first match following the Australian Open is not an easy one.

Karolina Pliskova did not have the best 2022 with injury and inconsistent form and her own hopes of winning a Grand Slam title may have faded, but the Czech player did reach the Australian Open Quarter Final last month. A strong win in the First Round in Abu Dhabi shows she has turned the page from Melbourne and Karolina Pliskova has plenty of power and a solid serve that can put opponents under pressure.

A problem has been trying to get more out of her return and I do think that is where Elena Rybakina will hold a significant edge over Karolina Pliskova in this big Second Round match.

My feeling is that Karolina Pliskova is not the force she once was and it is hard to ignore the fact that she has lost her last four hard court matches against top 20 Ranked opponents. Those four losses have all been in relatively straight-forward manner, including both played last month when Karolina Pliskova really struggled on the serve and only managed to win 36% of return points played.

I think that could show up in this Second Round match once Elena Rybakina gets herself comfortable on the court- the first set should be competitive, but the Wimbledon Champion has the capability to build pressure with her own serve and aggressive returns can pay off the longer the match goes.

It was the case when these two met in October on the hard courts of Guadalajara as Elena Rybakina used a first set tie-breaker win to move through the second set relatively comfortably. She won 41% of return points played compared with Karolina Pliskova's 32% mark on that day and I will look for the top ten Ranked player to come through with a good win in this Second Round match in Abu Dhabi.

MY PICKS: Beatriz Haddad Maia - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Elena Rybakina - 3.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Daria Kasatkina - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 3-2, + 0.70 Units (10 Units Staked, + 7% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2023 (February 8th)

This has been a week in which I have largely been keeping an eye out on the opening matches at the five tournaments being played and that is because there have not been a lot of options that have hit my criteria to be down as a Tennis Pick.

Some quality players are looking to build some Ranking points, but the lines have been pretty tight, while the majority of the First Round and Second Round matches that have been played have been tough for me to get a really good read on.

The biggest event of the week is the WTA tournament in Abu Dhabi, where a number of top 20 Ranked players are playing, and that is where the focus for the Tennis Picks are for Wednesday.

Belinda Bencic - 3.5 games v Marta Kostyuk: Being inside the top ten of the World Rankings is clearly a positive for any player, but Belinda Bencic must feel her chances of winning a first Grand Slam are getting longer and longer in each passing season. She opened 2023 in pretty strong form with a defeat to Iga Swiatek the only one before the Australian Open, but the Swiss Miss was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne and her wait for a Slam goes on.

A glass half full kind of character would at least point out that the two defeats suffered by Belinda Bencic this season have both come against top quality opponents. And Sabalenka going on to win the Australian Open might suggest that Belinda Bencic is not that far away when it comes to winning a Grand Slam in what is a very open WTA Tour.

Belinda Bencic has shown she has an all-court game with some decent clay court results and she will look at February and March as an opportunity to build some momentum before the run towards the French Open begins. Winning a title in Abu Dhabi at a WTA 500 level will be a real boost for the overall confidence and I do think Bencic is rightly put down as the favourite to win this week.

However, she cannot expect players to roll over for her and this is the first match that Belinda Bencic will have played since her disappointing exit at the Australian Open. On the other hand, Marta Kostyuk reached the Quarter Final in Hua Hin last week and has already won a First Round match here in Abu Dhabi while Bencic was receiving a Bye into the Second Round.

The young Ukrainian has perhaps been at the forefront of other tennis discussions rather than those focused on her actual play, but that leadership quality will help Marta Kostyuk in the future. She has long been seen as a potential Grand Slam Champion and the 20 year old has shown the kind of level she can produce when she is at her best.

Consistency is going to be the key and Marta Kostyuk has yet to find that as often as she would like- her numbers have been decent on the hard courts since the start of the 2023 season, but five of her nine wins have been against players Ranked outside the top 100 and the 4-4 record against the stronger players on the Tour is less encouraging.

The returning numbers have not been good enough as far as Kostyuk is concerned, while she has a 0-5 record against top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months. In that time Marta Kostyuk has won a single set, and her second serve has been a considerable weakness in those matches, which is an area that Belinda Bencic will look to exploit.

Belinda Bencic serves well to put the pressure on her opponents, but there is room for improvement when it comes to the points won against serve. However, there has been a big leap from her overall returning numbers to when Bencic faces players Ranked outside the top 50 on the hard courts over the last twelve months and I do think she can beat Marta Kostyuk as she did in Miami last year.

This one is not likely to be as comfortable as it was in that Masters event, but Belinda Bencic can win and cover this handicap mark.

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Marton Fucsovics: After their meeting at the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner will be looking to make a much faster start than he did in Melbourne when he found himself 0-2 down in sets to Marton Fucsovics.

They were two close sets and Sinner should have won at least one of those, but he managed to take full control of the match over the remaining three sets and only dropped three more games.

Marton Fucsovics has been on the path back from injury, but there is still work to do as he has dropped back to World Number 69 and the Hungarian was well beaten twice in Davis Cup action this past weekend. He did win a First Round match here and Jannik Sinner has not played since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Fourth Round at the Australian Open, but it may still not be enough reason to believe Fucsovics can make this a closer match than it ended up being in Melbourne.

My biggest concern with backing Jannik Sinner to cover this kind of line is that he has not always been able to look after his serve as he would like- he has held 83% of hard court service games played in 2023 and Sinner was broken five times by Marton Fucsovics when they met last month. However, the Italian did show some positive improvement in the return part of his tennis over the first month of the season and this Fucsovics serve is still one that is vulnerable as he looks to get back up to full speed.

Over the last twelve months Marton Fucsovics has only held 76% of service games played on the hard courts against top 100 Ranked opponents.

That number has dipped to 62% in the first month of this season against such opponents and I think Sinner can do enough to cover here.

MY PICKS: Belinda Bencic - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Veronika Kudermetova - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Shelby Rogers @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 1-2, - 2.50 Units (6 Units Staked, - 41.67% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2023 (February 7th)

I was hoping to have a longer thread for the second day of the week and the tournaments being played, but time has not been on my side on Monday.

Any Picks from the tournaments in Cordoba and Dallas will be added to this thread, but the main selections are from the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi where the First Round will be completed.

MY PICKS: Qinwen Zheng - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Leylah Fernandez - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Karolina Pliskova - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 0-1, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2023 (February 6th)

The solid return from the Australian Open and the ATP Tour having a week off to get a few Davis Cup ties played this past weekend contributed to my decision to take a short break from the Tennis Picks.

However, the first full week in February brings us the first 500 level event of the season when the WTA Tour begins a trip around the Middle East in Abu Dhabi and that will bring together some of the best players on that side of the two Tennis Tours.

The South American Golden Swing sees some early clay court action ahed of the move onto the European clay courts in April- we have Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago to come in the weeks ahead, while the indoor European hard court tournaments begin Montpellier before moving to Rotterdam and Marseille.

A slight change in the Tour schedule means the tournament in Doha has also been moved to this month in the week before the 500 event held annually in Dubai and it is a very busy month before the back to back Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami in March.

I won't have Tennis Picks from every tournament being played this week, at least not every day, but I am looking to build on the start made in Australia last month after what was an underperforming 2022.

Hopefully the Australian Open was the beginning of a really good season rather than being an outlier.

I should have a thread with more analysis behind some of my selections on Tuesday and through the rest of the week, but on Monday I have just found Picks from the First Round in Cordoba.

MY PICKS: Roberto Carballas Baena - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Boxing Picks 2023- Emanuel Navarrete vs Liam Wilson (February 3rd)

It feels like it has been a long time since we had a really good event in the United Kingdom as far as the Boxing goes, but the Anthony Yarde World Title challenge against Artur Beterbiev may be the start of a really good six months on these shores.

Of course we have already had the big Liam Smith win over Chris Eubank Jr, but the Beterbiev-Yarde top of the bill was truly a World level event.

And Anthony Yarde did not disappoint.

There are ways to lose Boxing fights and some will raise your stock, something that I do feel has happened for Anthony Yarde. The Fifth Round was truly one to enjoy and there was a moment or two when I thought Yarde was going to pull off the upset, but Artur Beterbiev is one tough customer and ultimately deservedly came out on top.

It was really fun to be at Wembley Arena for a big show and fans of the sport should take advantage of some of the fights that have already been announced for the United Kingdom. I am really looking forward to the Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara fight in Nottingham, while April could be a month for the Heavyweights with Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce back on separate cards in London (AJ's fight yet to be announced but heavily rumoured), while there is still an outside chance of seeing the Heavyweight Unification between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium in the same month.

As fans we have to support the events simply to ensure we get to see more of them over here and I will definitely be trying to make at least two of those Heavyweight fights in London as long as tickets can be secured.

The first half of 2023 isn't just about the UK cards being announced, but we could have some huge fights across the pond too. David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant is a headline fight that both Boxers deserve a lot of credit for signing up to, while Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia looks to have taken a positive step forward to add to the loaded April schedule.

Canelo Alvarez is expected back and Dmitry Bivol could defend his Light Heavyweight World Title against Joshua Buatsi, while we should soon hear of the plans set for the likes of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, who continue to dance around one another without actually signing a contract for the mega-fight at 147.

Of course we want to see the Super-Fights as much as possible, but I do like some of the cards that have been put together and the headline bouts we are hopefully going to see. It should set us up for a really good second half of the year and hopefully this will be a 'season' where the fans are rewarded for their patience when it comes to some of the biggest bouts that can be made.

However, it is Boxing and you can never get too excited about the potential fights and just enjoy those that are offered to us.

There are a couple of decent cards this weekend and the promoters have made a good decision to have one on Friday and one on Saturday to avoid clashes that have become a little too common. Sometimes it can't be helped, but other times it can be and this is one of those weekends where common sense has prevailed.

I won't have any Picks from the largely female card being promoted by Matchroom and DAZN this weekend- there are some quality fights being made on that side of the sport, but the prices are never as appealing as they could be with the two minute Rounds and the Ten Round limit making it that much harder to predict Knock Outs.

The layers know that and so Decision wins are priced up accordingly, while this weekend we have a number of strong favourites that are expected to win, notably Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner. Both of those Boxers could be in line for big fights next up if they can win their Undisputed bouts this weekend and I do think both will do so, and most likely with their hands raised after going through their Ten Rounder World Title contests.

My focus for the Boxing Picks this weekend will be on the Friday night card being promoted by Top Rank with the main event seeing a vacant World Title up for grabs that has been left behind by Shakur Stevenson.

Emanuel Navarrete vs Liam Wilson

He has always looked pretty big at his previous weight classes so it is no surprise to see Emanuel Navarrete up at Super Featherweight in a bid to win another World Title.

This will set up a big fight with Oscar Valdez, perhaps before the first half of 2023 comes to a conclusion, and I do think he is deservedly a big favourite in this fight.

You can't take anything away from Liam Wilson for taking an opportunity and Australian fighters are tough, but this is his first time outside of his own country and the stoppage loss to Joe Noynay is a concern. Liam Wilson avenged that defeat in the immediate rematch, but he faces another big puncher and this is a considerable step up in level, even if Emanuel Navarrete has not fought at 130 pounds before.

As I have mentioned, Navarrete looked big at the previous two weight classes, and it was long thought that he would have to move up- he has the longer reach in this one and I am not sure he is going to have to look too hard to find Liam Wilson inside this ring.

30 stoppages in 36 wins shows the kind of power that Emanuel Navarrete does possess and Liam Wilson was stopped by someone who has not been known for his own power. This is arguably going to be the biggest puncher that Wilson has ever faced and I do think the Mexican can come through an early fire fight with the bigger blows having been landed.

Emanuel Navarrete has been a methodical puncher that breaks down his opponent rather than one punch Knock Out power, although he certainly has that too. I can see him breaking through the Liam Wilson defences early and often in this one and I am not sure the Australian will have the pop to make Navarrete step back out of the phone box.

He can take a bit of time to warm up to his task, but I think Emanuel Navarrete will be looking to make a statement in this one and I do think he can get this done within the first half of the fight.

There are some of the brighter Top Rank prospects on the undercard as they continue their development as professional fighters.

One of the top younger names is Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of The Greatest Muhammad Ali, and he should be able to win his Six Rounder inside the first half of the fight.

He has been forced to go the distance twice, including in his first Six Rounder in October, but Ali Walsh has won his other five fights before the Fourth Round. He faces Eduardo Ayala who has been stopped twice in his two defeats and I think Nico Ali Walsh can make sure he wins early enough to be ready to get back out as soon as possible.

After needing Three Rounds last time out, Richard Torrez Jr should have a much earlier night in the office when taking on James Bryant.

The 37 year old did go a couple of Rounds in a losing effort against another heavy hitting unbeaten Sonny Conto, and James Bryant came out absolutely swinging in that one. I expect a similar approach in this one, and that should leave him open to Richard Torrez Jr's power and the young American can perhaps close the show a little quicker than Conto managed to do.

Richard Torrez Jr is a raw talent and a work in progress, but he hits hard and James Bryant may just be loose enough to fall into something early.

MY PICKS: Emanuel Navarrete to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.50 Bet365 (2 Units)

Nico Ali Walsh to Win Between 1-3 @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Richard Torrez Jr to Win in First Round @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Boxing Update 2023: 1-3, - 3.40 Units (7 Units Staked, - 48.57% Yield)