Boxing Picks 2019- James DeGale v Chris Eubank Jr (February 23rd)

The last Boxing Picks of 2018 took place in early December after I returned from Los Angeles and the amazing Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury event and the year ended with a small profit.

I still wanted to sit down and think about how I could improve as I didn't pick as many winners as I would have liked and that would have made a huge difference to the overall numbers. Of course you can never be unhappy if you end with a winning number at the end of the day, but evolving and working out ways to improve is paramount to long-term success.

With that in mind I always felt I was going to sit out the first couple of months of the 2019 year even though there were a couple of fights that really intrigued me. The Manny Pacquiao UD over Adrien Broner was one I was keen on, but I also thought Keith Thurman would return with a real statement win and that was far from the case.

January and early February had some other decent fights too and I have been settling down and enjoying the events as they have been put on. However my feeling has been that the James DeGale versus Chris Eubank Jr card from the O2 Arena in London was going to be the one in which I made my first selections from the 2019 year.

I feel this is the start of a number of weeks where we see some huge names coming out to their first bouts of the year, although the excitement levels of late December 2018 to enter 2019 have diminished some.

You may ask why and the answer is simple- the fights that were expected to be made in the first half of the 2019 year have just not materialised at the time of writing. The main one is of course the rematch between Wilder and Fury, but I am convinced the Tyson Fury deal with ESPN means both will go a different direction before meeting up later in the year instead of the April or May dates we thought.

Tyson Fury deserves the deal and the exposure he is going to get, but you can't help feel disappointed if the rematch does not happen in 2019 and at the moment we really don't know what is happening even if my feeling is that it will be put together.


At the same time Anthony Joshua has scrapped the long held Wembley date on April 13th and instead heads to New York City to take on Jarrell Miller on June 1st. That has left Dillian Whyte without a dance partner after a fantastic 2018 and I do feel sorry for a fighter that has long deserved a shot at the World Title but yet feels as far away from that as ever.

Lower down we are yet to see what Gennady Golovkin has planned, but the fight between Danny Jacobs and Canelo Alvarez is about as good as you could want in the Middleweight Division.

Another fight that hasn't come to fruition like expected is the Amir Khan versus Kell Brook domestic grudge bout- instead Khan decided to head to America to challenge Terence Crawford and Brook looks to be going the same way.

The World Boxing Super Series has been a revelation over the last eighteen months, but even that tournament has had financial issues attached and all in all 2019 has yet to open with the kind of bang that 2018 delivered.


It is also something of a downtime for the UK fans- most of the big names are heading to the States, including Anthony Crolla, while the cards scheduled for this side of the pond have yet to really ignite for the fans. This weekend's at the O2 Arena may be about as good as it gets, but that is yet to sell out and there is very few cards coming up that really gets the blood rushing.

The best of the lot has to be Josh Taylor's World Title bid on May 18th in the World Boxing Super Series which also has Naoya Inoue attached to it, but the tournament isn't exactly prospering and who knows if that actually takes place?

For those watching on television there are plenty of fights to enjoy, but the UK being the heart of boxing like some many promoters have stated just doesn't feel the case at the moment.


This week we do have a good card in London and it should be a fun night especially the main event which looks a good one on paper. The fights will go on through the night as Anthony Dirrell looks to pick up a World Title again, while Brandon Rios headlines a card in Mexico too, but the main fight I am looking forward to is the one between James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr.

Joe Joyce vs Bermane Stiverne

The main support to the top of the bill is the Heavyweight return of Joe Joyce who is back in the United Kingdom and back in a Boxing ring for the first time since early December. The British fighter has built a decent reputation in the United States where he has based himself in the last few months and this is seen as another step in his development which is being accelerated because Joyce decided to turn pro after he had already turned 30 years old.

There had been some talk of Joe Joyce taking on Luis Ortiz, but his trainer Abel Sanchez decided it would be better for more experience to be earned.

Instead the attention has turned to Bermane Stiverne who is a former World Champion, but someone who has not had many fights since losing the WBC belt to Deontay Wilder. That defeat on a Unanimous Decision came in January 2015 and Stiverne has only been out twice since then with the most recent of those being in the First Round blow out that Wilder handed to him in November 2017.

Now Stiverne has hit 40 years old and his best days look way behind him. A win would bring him back into World Title contention with the WBA attaching a 'Golden Belt' to this fight which means the winner will be in line to take on Regular Champion Manual Charr and then perhaps become the mandatory for a shot at Anthony Joshua.

However this feels like a crossing of the paths kind of fight where Joe Joyce is on an upward climb to the top of the mountain and Stiverne is on the way down.

The fight has been selected for Joyce to make a statement by cruising past a former World Champion and I am not sure Stiverne has the kind of punch resistance he will need to make this a long, tough night for the British fighter. The long fight with Wilder which ended on points seems to have taken something from Stiverne who was knocked down in the First Round of his comeback bout after losing to Wilder the first time before the WBC Champion crushed him in the rematch.

This is the eighth pro fight for Joe Joyce and he has won all seven by stoppage. Only two of the previous seven fighters facing Joyce have gotten out of the Second Round and I think he will give the home fans something to smile about with a big early finish in this one too. The talk is already about Joyce being back out in May so he won't want to spend too long in this one as people look to compare how he handles Stiverne compared with Wilder's last win over the Haitian.

It is unlikely it will be quicker than the Wilder finish, but I don't think Joyce will need to be working Overtime to get paid. Backing Joyce to finish this in the first three Rounds at odds against looks a very good price and I think he can be backed to get the fight concluded in those Rounds.

James DeGale vs Chris Eubank Jr

I'll admit that when this fight was first rumoured for the end of 2018 I wasn't that interested in seeing it, but since the announcement was made that James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr will be getting in the ring with one another in February I have slowly begun to become more and more intrigued by it.

I do think it is always a different feel when two British fighters with a bit of needle between them face off and the Super Middleweight Division has given us some very good domestic bouts over the years.

Much is on the line for both DeGale and Eubank Jr, although I do think it is a more important fight for the former to show he still has something in the tank. At the back end of last year DeGale decided to give up the IBF World Title he had won back from Caleb Truax and it was a decision made to chase the big fights with the most financial rewards even though DeGale won't be bringing a belt to the table.

Beating Eubank Jr opens up the possibility of a huge fight with Callum Smith who is considered the best Super Middleweight in the world after winning the World Boxing Super Series last October. Billy Joe Saunders is another who has moved up to the 168 pound Division and he could have a WBO World Title behind him, but those doors will shut for DeGale if he loses this one.

It has to worry me that he has used 'retirement' in the build up to the fight because no Boxer can really think that way and then motivate themselves to push themselves as hard as possible in the gym. The irritation of Eubank Jr should focus DeGale to give whatever he has left and I am still not convinced that Eubank Jr is able to put his best together in these big fights.

Twelve months ago Eubank Jr was a pretty strong favourite to beat George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series, but he struggled in the step up like he did against Billy Joe Saunders. Things have changed with an official trainer brought in, but Eubank Jr has to humble himself to listen to instructions if he is going to win this one.

I can see the fight developing like the Groves-Eubank Jr fight from last year. I expect DeGale to be able to outbox Eubank Jr during the first Six or Seven Rounds, but I also hope to see more from the former World Champion than what he was able to produce in his two fights with Truax, while DeGale can't afford to take as much time off in the latter Rounds as he has tended to do throughout his career.

I think a leopard can't really change its spots though and I think DeGale will drop some of the later Rounds to Eubank Jr due to conserving energy and perhaps not moving around the ring and boxing like he should do earlier in the fight. However DeGale has shown he can rally late to win a couple of Rounds to make the difference and I believe the fight goes something like that and sees the Olympic Gold Medal winner coming through with a tight Decision win.

You do have to wonder how much DeGale has left in the tank and he has been in a number of tough fights in a row when it has begun to look like he is not the same fighter as he once was. Of course you're going to hear great things coming from DeGale himself about how he feels, but we heard the same from David Haye prior to both fights with Tony Bellew and you can't take a fighter at face value when those statements are made.

However I still think DeGale should be technically too good for Eubank Jr and if he boxes like he can and is not dragged into a scrap I would favour the naturally bigger man to find a way to get this done. Stopping Eubank Jr is close to impossible at the moment, but DeGale can win this one on the cards and I will back him to show there is still one more huge night in him by beating this rival and perhaps sending Eubank Jr down to Middleweight to fight at a more natural weight for himself.

Anthony Dirrell vs Avni Yildirim

David Benavidez was stripped of the WBC Super Middleweight Title and the organisation quickly decided they would crown the winner of the Anthony Dirrell and Avni Yildirim bout as the Champion.

This was one of the fights showcased by the Premier Boxing Champions promotion and it is no surprise that Dirrell is the favourite.

Anthony Dirrell is a former WBC Super Middleweight Champion who lost his belt in a Majority Decision to Badou Jack after holding onto it for nine months. He always felt he should have gotten a rematch, but Dirrell has managed to win all five fights he has had since April 2015 with the most notable being a very early stoppage of Caleb Truax.

It can be said that he has not been as active as you may have wanted him with this being his first fight in ten months, while I always have concerns when boxers are talking about life after they hang up the gloves. Does that mean Dirrell is as focused on this fight as he should be or is it one last payday before heading off into the sunset?

Personally I think Dirrell is not going to go on for much longer than this year, but he can have at least one major fight later in 2019 by getting past Avni Yildirim.

The Turkish fighter is perhaps most well known for being beaten by Chris Eubank Jr in their World Boxing Super Series Quarter Final, but he has rebuilt from that Knock Out defeat. Since then Yildirim has won five fights in a row although his quality of wins are questionable with the best one being a Majority Decision over 46 year old Lolenga Mock back in September.

Even then it is something of a surprise that he is Ranked as highly in the WBC to earn the chance to fight for a vacant Title. Avni Yildirim is pretty basic with his movements and I do think if Anthony Dirrell has anything left in the tank this is a fight he should win quite comfortably.

A Division that is a popular one is not exactly blessed with a lot of talent at the moment, but it is top loaded and the winner of this bout could have a very big Unification fight to come later this year. I still think Dirrell is going to have too much for a pretty predictable fighter and I believe he will stop Yildirim at some point.

Anthony Dirrell has some decent pop and I think he will be able to time Yildirim onto something like Eubank Jr did and that should set up the American for at least one more big fight down the line.

Brandon Rios vs Humberto Soto

The main event in Tijuana on Saturday evening sees two veteran fighters in what should be a crossroads fight. The losing fighter won't really have a lot of avenues to tread to get back into contention at this stage of their careers, but the winner could at least set themselves up for one more big opportunity.

Brandon Rios is always a joy to watch for the fans, but he has been involved in plenty of wars which makes him an old 32 years. He has been stopped in two of his last four fights, but he has bounced back from those defeats to Timothy Bradley and Danny Garcia to stop the next opponent he has faced.

The last time we saw Rios he was walking down and breaking down Ramon Alvarez and he will be looking to do the same here against an opponent who should have the majority of the support.

Humberto Soto is going to be involved in his eightieth fight on Saturday evening and at 38 years old he has to be feeling it these days. Soto is on a run of three wins in a row and he has proven to be a tough out with only two stoppages on his record and the last one of those was back in 2012 since when Soto has lost just one fight on a Decision.

I am fully expecting these two proud warriors to give as good as they get and it should be a fan friendly fight, but a tough one for the two men sharing the ring. My feeling is that Brandon Rios might be the harder puncher and is perhaps going to be in a position where he wears down Soto over eight or nine Rounds like he did to Alvarez back in November.

I do think Rios has seen something taken away from him by the difficult fights he has been involved in, but he might just get himself another big bout in the months ahead by working his way past Soto. There is no way this Mexican warrior Soto is going to want to do anything but go out on his shield in this fight, but at some point the age should catch up with him and his corner or the referee may step in to save him and I will have a small interest in Rios winning this fight in the second half of the contest.

MY PICKS: Joe Joyce to Win Between 1-3 @ 2.20 William Hill (2 Units)

James DeGale to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Anthony Dirrell to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Brandon Rios to Win Between 7-12 @ 4.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Boxing 2018: + 5.14 Units (159 Units Staked, + 3.23% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2018- Tony Bellew vs David Haye 2 (May 5th)

The rematch which is fourteen months in the making takes place on Saturday 5th May 2018 and it should have been a really big day for Boxing fans with the expected Canelo vs GGG rematch scheduled to have taken place on the same day.

We all know what happened with the latter fight and now the big event is the rematch between Tony Bellew and David Haye from their first bout in March 2017.

The injury suffered by Haye also put an asterisk by the win for Bellew but the latter is confident he can 'repeat' his success on a busy night from The O2 Arena in London.

Gennady Golovkin is also in action this Saturday but the scrapping of the bout with Canelo means there is far less general interest in the fight to come. However I love watching GGG and I think it could be a decent scrap later in the evening for those who want to continue watching the Boxing late into the early hours of Sunday morning.

Martin Joseph Ward vs James Tennyson

The opening bout of the evening for the television cameras looks like it could be a decent one as both Martin Joseph Ward and James Tennyson look to set themselves up for a potential World Title scrap either later in 2018 or early 2019.

The winner certainly has a chance to do that while the losing fighter will head back down to domestic level and have to rebuild. Both are certainly young enough to do that, but I expect both Joseph Ward and Tennyson see this fight as a kind of marker for what they can do in this sport going forward.

It is Joseph Ward who puts his unbeaten record on the line with Tennyson suffering two stoppage losses in his career. One of those stoppages was a real stunner against an opponent who had lost 64/71 fights when Tennyson faced him, while the other against Ryan Walsh is a more respectable loss.

However I do think Tennyson has found his ceiling and I expect Joseph Ward to surpass that.

This is a step up for Joseph Ward but I think the boxing ability will see him able to keep Tennyson in awkward spots and away from landing the heavy shots he is known for. Joseph Ward is able to hurt people himself, but he will accept he is the boxer in this bout and I expect the game plan to be to frustrate Tennyson and put the Rounds in the bank.

Tennyson being stopped in both career defeats is a concern when it comes to making the pick for this opening fight at The O2 Arena, but I think Joseph Ward has an impressive Unanimous Decision to put into the books and keep the career moving onwards and upwards.

Lenroy Thomas vs Joe Joyce

In just his fourth fight as a professional, Joe Joyce has been set up to face the Commonwealth Champion Lenroy Thomas who is well known in the United Kingdom having faced popular David Allen twice.

The second clash was a couple of months ago but was cut short after a clash of heads in the First Round, while Thomas was able to win a Split Decision against Allen prior to that.

However most consider Joe Joyce a much bigger prospect than the likes of Allen and he is being fast-tracked to the top of the Heavyweight Division. That was made clear with a debut against the tough Ian Lewison and his promoter, one David Haye, was keen to set up a meeting with Dereck Chisora rather than Thomas at this point.

Chisora is a bigger test than Thomas in my opinion and I fully expect Joyce to put in a dominant display against an awkward opponent.

Thomas has been beaten four times in his career and three of those have come by stoppage and all of those stoppages have been in the Third or Fourth Round. Dominic Breazeale is one of those who have managed to stop Thomas in his sixth professional fight, and it is the American who is the biggest name on the Thomas record.

I just haven't been that impressed with Thomas' resume and I think he will always be found out when he steps up a level and I do believe Joyce is a step up for him. Joyce has stopped all three opponents he has faced and I expect him to record another here, although he may need a few more Rounds than his last two fights which have both ended in the First Round.

It feels like Joyce will showcase a little more of his skill in this one as he gets to grip with the southpaw stance Thomas operates in. But once he does I expect the Joyce power to come through and become the latest man to stop Thomas so a small interest in the British fighter to come through somewhere between the Fourth and Sixth Round looks worth taking on.

Paul Butler vs Emmanuel Rodriguez

This was originally supposed to be the chief support to the main event at The O2 Arena with the vacant IBF Bantamweight World Title on the line which has been dropped by Ryan Burnett.

Paul Butler unfortunately missed the weight on Friday and made the decision that he would not try and shed his pounds which means the title is only on the line for Emmanuel Rodriguez who is a major prospect.

You can't always tell how fighters will step up and this definitely a step up for Rodriguez especially as he goes on the road to try and take the World Title.

However Rodriguez has all the look of a fighter that not only will reach the very top, but one who could become a real star in this Division.

Butler has a strong record and he won't make it easy for Rodriguez, but I think missing weight is always a concern. This also looks to be the toughest fight Butler has had since being stopped by the impressive Zolani Tete and I do think Rodriguez has all the makings of a fighter that could be involved in some huge Unification fights in the Bantamweight Division.

There has been talk from the Butler camp that they've seen inexperienced mistakes made by Rodriguez, but I think the latter will show he is ready to take the step to be considered one of the elite fighters in this Division. At some stage I expect the body work from Rodriguez to take their toll and I will back the Puerto Rican to find the stoppage and make a name for himself at the top of his Division.

John Ryder vs Jamie Cox

So instead of Paul Butler vs Emmanuel Rodriguez a real fifty-fifty bout from the Super-Middleweight Division offers the chief support to the main event in London on Saturday evening.

For both John Ryder and Jamie Cox this fight may also represent a fork in the road with the winner having chances to fight for World Titles and the loser perhaps contemplating where their career can go.

To be honest I thought it would be Cox favoured by the layers, but it is in fact Ryder who is edging favouritism.

'The Gorilla' does have four career losses on his record but rejuvenated his career with a win over Patrick Nielson in his last bout seven months ago. That is a strong win for Ryder, but losses to Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield and Rocky Fielding suggests the win over Nielson was against the odds.

Jamie Cox will certainly feel he is operating on the same kind of plane of some of those boxers who have wins over Ryder. He wasn't boxing badly before being hit with a huge punch by George Groves in his sole professional loss and Cox may feel Ryder doesn't bring the same kind of power to the party as one of the best in the Division.

However it can be hard to read into Cox with the fight against Groves the sole real step up in his career, but he has won European and Commonwealth Titles and I think that puts him above the levels that Ryder has reached.

It is a close fight though and I think it could be difficult to score at times with two southpaw boxers not always gelling together the best. I do think Cox may be the better fighter in the contest though and I have to back him as the 'underdog' to come out with a win and get back into a position to fight for major Titles at the Super-Middleweight level.

Tony Bellew vs David Haye 2

That picture is about as friendly as things are going to be between Tony Bellew and David Haye who are set to meet for a second time fourteen months after their first bout.

A torn Achilles ended any real hope for Haye to win a fight he had been leading 4-1 on the scoreboards before the injury in the Sixth Round. The former Unified Cruiserweight World Champion was on one leg for the next six Rounds before seeing the towel thrown in, but that has always meant questions about the validity of Bellew's win.

That obviously grates on Bellew, which is fair considering he called the fight to go almost exactly as it did, and there is a confidence in his camp that they can 'repeat'.

Personally I do think we will see 'revenge'.

David Haye did not box well in the first fight between these two, but I think much had to do with his mindset and the belief he was going to walk through Bellew without too much fuss. Instead it was a much tougher night and the Haye timing was significantly off.

I don't think he is anything like as poor again and I think Haye coming in lighter works very well for him in this rematch.

Tony Bellew has to be respected for what he has achieved in the sport, but I can't help think he doesn't really have the power to hurt Haye as much as he thinks. Beating on a one-legged opponent and barely getting him out of there suggests it is unlikely Bellew can power past Haye and instead he has to hope the latter is really a shadow of himself.

I just think Haye is going to be a much cleverer and more calculated fighter in this rematch and I also believe his power is going to be the difference. It may not come early, as Haye has been suggesting this week with his personal prediction a mid to late stoppage.

But I do think it will come.

I expect better timing and rhythm from Haye and I will back him to find the stoppage in this rematch. I won't look for a time, but I will look for timing from Haye and perhaps a chance to vault himself into the suddenly fruitful Heavyweight Division.

Gennady Golovkin vs Vanes Martirosyan

Some of the top Boxing writers have really been crapping on this Middleweight bout between Gennady Golovkin and Vanes Martirosyan but I think they should reserve their dislike for Canelo Alvarez whose tainted blood sample is the reason we are not getting a rematch all the fans want to see.

You can understand the disappointment, but it is not Golovkin's fault and he has picked an opponent who will give this a real go.

Of course you can't ignore the fact that Martirosyan has not been in the ring since losing a Unanimous Decision to Erislandy Lara almost two years ago and in the weight Division below this one.

That inactivity does raise doubts for someone on short notice, but Martirosyan has been in the ring with some of the biggest names in the Light-Middleweight Division even if he has come up short each time. He has not been stopped in any of those which shows toughness, but the step up to Middleweight is another big question to answer.

I expect he will give Golovkin some early issues with the speed on his side, much like Kell Brook did when he faced the Kazakhstan superstar in London. However, like Brook, eventually the power of Golovkin should prove too much and he should begin to wear down Martirosyan around the mid-Rounds.

Golovkin can then begin to get ready for what is likely to be a September showdown with Canelo and I will back him to finish this one impressively anywhere between the Fifth and Eighth Round.

MY PICKS: Martin Joseph Ward By Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.37 Sporting Bet (2 Units)

Joe Joyce Win Between 4-6 @ 3.25 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)

Emmanuel Rodriguez Win by KO/TKO or Disqualification @ 2.50 William Hill (2 Units)

Jamie Cox @ 2.25 Bet Fred (2 Units)

David Haye by KO/TKO or Disqualification @ 1.91 Betfair Sportsbook (2 Units)

Gennady Golovkin Win Between 5-8 @ 2.62 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Boxing Update 2018: 13-20, + 13.13 Units (48 Units Staked, + 27.35% Yield)