On Friday, October 18, WBC light heavyweight title holder Oleksandr Gvozdyk will take on IBF title holder Artur Beterbiev in Philadelphia in a fight that can be seen on ESPN. Both fighters come in unbeaten, as Gvozdyk is 17-0 with 14 knockouts, while Beterbiev is 14-0, with all 14 of his fights ending in knockout. Gvozdyk won his WBC title last December, knocking out Adonis Stevenson, while Beterbiev won his title in 2017, knocking out Enrico Koelling. Let’s look at the bout and boxing picks.
Boxing Odds at Bookmaker.eu
Oleksandr Gvozdyk: -135
Artur Beterbiev: +114
Over/Under Rounds: Check Back Later
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 knockouts)
In his last five fights, Gvozdyk has five wins and no losses. He won by TKO in the 5th round against Doudou Ngumbu in March of this year, knocked out Adonis Stevenson last December in the 11th round, won a unanimous decision against Mehdi Amar in March of 2018, won by TKO against Craig Baker in August of 2017 and won by TKO against Yunieski Gonzalez in April of 2017. Gvozdyk gets a knockout 82% of the time.
"He is a strong fighter. He's a stylish boxer with rich amateur experience. I'm in the prime of my life.” Gvozdyk said to the media, “I can respond to him extremely well. This is a serious athlete and a serious challenge for me."
Gvozdyk and Beterbiev met as amateurs about 10 years ago and it was Beterbiev winning in the second round. Gvozdyk said that both of them are much different fighters now. "In 2009, I lost to him at a tournament in Turkey - my nose started to bleed. The fight was stopped in the second round. I went into that fight with a broken nose. For me, this was the first trip with the national team, and Beterbiev was already a great amateur champion. But that was ten years ago.
Today both of us are different boxers. We'll see," Gvozdyk said to the media, "They threw me in there like a victim into a tiger's cage. Objectively speaking, I was not ready for that fight - neither mentally nor physically. Plus, ten days before him, my nose was broken - I did not train and did not intend to box at all. They asked to go out for this, to gain further experience. I perfectly understand who I have to face now. This is a serious puncher. We will fight."
Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 knockouts)
In his last five fights, Beterbiev has five wins and no losses. He won by knockout against Radivoje Kalajdzic in May of this year, knocked out Callum Johnson in October of 2018, knocked out Enrico Kolling in November of 2017, won by TKO against Isidro Ranoni Prieto in December of 2016 and won by TKO against Ezequiel Madema in June of 2016. Beterbiev gets a knockout win 100% of the time.
Boxing Picks
The 175 pound division is definitely an interesting one with four title holders, as Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol are the other two champs. Gvozdyk is currently ranked as the No. 1 boxer in the division by ESPN, while Beterbiev is ranked fourth. Gvozdyk is the better all around fighter, but there is no denying that Beterbiev has big time power. The question in this fight is how Gvozdyk handles the big punch of Beterbiev. If he can take the big punch then he should win this fight and I think he can take the big shot. I’ll lay the small price with Gvozdyk and I will also consider taking the rounds to go over the total.
Boxing Pick: Gvozdyk to win by decision
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With boxing odds at BookMaker Sportsbook, you can bet on boxing all year, from smaller cards to pay-per-view events. Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook. Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Artur Beterbiev takes place on October 18, 2019 at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and can be seen on ESPN.
