Wagering on Wardley? Best Bets from Boxxer Card
Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke are set for a collision at the O2 Arena, with the British Commonwealth Heavyweight title on the line, on a card promoted by BOXXER. This title is often a precursor to world titles and storied successes. So how can you make some money out of the bookies from this fantastic card?
Main Event Won’t Go the Distance
The main event between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke is set for 12 rounds, but the likelihood of the final bell ringing is slim. Both of these British fighters love to end fights. Wardley’s 17-0 record is built on a foundation of 16 KO wins. His only points victory came in his first pro fight back in 2017; he’s drastically improved since then. Another critical market to consider is that Wardley could win in one of the early rounds. Nick Webb saw stars in the first round, while Daniel Martz, Chris Healey, and Nathan Gorman were done before three rounds were completed.
Clarke has to be considered the underdog on paper. He spent years in the amateur ranks and even worked as a boxing coach, during which time he won countless amateur championships. Now he’s making up for lost time in the pro game, having only fought his first professional bout in 2022. He’s amassed an 8-0 record, similar to Wardley, with most of them coming by way of stoppage. He could win this fight and be a fruitful selection for those willing to take the risk on his longer odds. Should he emerge victorious, he will certainly move the needle when it comes to heavyweight boxing news.
The Albanian King to Reign Supreme
Affectionately known as the ‘Albanian King,’ Florian Marku (despite the country abolishing the monarchy in 1946) has appeared on several high-profile cards, including nights featuring Chris Eubank Jr., Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk. This welterweight is 13-0-1 and certainly earned his way up the rankings. He’s arguably one of the best-versed boxers right now as he transitioned from MMA competition to the sweet science. His greatest weapon is his right hand, which has ended fights early. The smart money would be to bet on him doing it again here.
Why so? It’s not like Chris Kongo is a lousy fighter… he never honestly had a challenge. Every fight he’s won convincingly, he had to be considered a huge favorite, and he’s been inactive while also coming into this fight on the back of a loss. All signs suggest that he shouldn’t be considered as a selection for a winning bet.
Robinson Could Upset Babic
Alen Babic and Steve Robinson face off in a heavyweight match with real career implications. Both men are 33 years old and realistically need to win this fight if they can win a championship. Babic has the better overall record at 11-1, but the Croatian’s last fight was that lone defeat, where he was made to look distinctly average as Lukasz Rozanski knocked him out in the first round, which made online boxing news at the time. Once the undefeated moniker goes, a fighter’s spirit can also go. One loss becomes two, three, etc.
Robinson isn’t a world-beater by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s already experienced a loss and has come back from the adversity. He’s also from Newcastle… while an intangible, if he can rally support from his traveling supporters and the local London crowd, he could ride the momentum to victory, making a tidy profit for those who want to back him here.
Riley and Lawal to Give It Everything
The phrase blood-and-thunder is often cited, and sometimes there is too much around boxing, but these two fighters, Viddal Riley and Mikael Lawal might be the perfect personification of the phrase. If there were a market selection for ‘bloodbath,’ that would be an ample choice here. Both men have won fights where the ref has had to waive off the contest because they seriously injured their opponent. Riley lacerated an opponent’s eye last year, while Lawal broke his opponent’s jaw back in 2022.
Given the ferocity of each fighter’s business, wagering on the total number of knockdowns could be a good idea. Some bookmakers are offering odds like 20/1 for 3 or more knockdowns and 50/1 for 4 or more! The fight is scheduled for ten rounds, so there’s a decent chunk of time for these two to brawl and get back up.
Another attractive market is the number of rounds. Riley is the favorite going into the fight and usually gets his work done efficiently. Four of his last five fights have not gone past the fourth round. Betting on the match to last four rounds or less could yield a good return.
Easy Win for Simpson in Opener
While it is a disservice to both fighters to say that a match will be easy, anyone who studies the fighters in the opening bout must admit there’s a mismatch between Callum Simpson and his opponent, Abdallah Paziwapazi. Simpson is an undefeated fighter who has appeared on cards promoted by Boxxer, Queensberry, and Wasserman Boxing. He’s 13-0 and hungry to bring glory to Barnsley as a fighter.
His opponent, Paziwapazi, appears to be a local fighter from Tanzania. He’s certainly got experience, with a 34-13-1 record at the age of 30. However, he’s nowhere near as successful and has spent recent years only getting booked on cards in his homeland. The smart bet would be to take the short odds on Simpson picking up a win and remaining undefeated.
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By Dean McHugh.
