On Saturday, March 14, heavily favored current champion Shakur Stevenson goes up against challenger Miguel Marriaga for the WBO Featherweight Title on ESPN. Stevenson is 13-0 in his career with 7 knockouts, while Marriaga is 29-3 with 25 knockouts. Stevenson and Marriaga will take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York and will be featured on ESPN with the main card coverage starting at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Let’s look at the bout and boxing picks.
Shakur Stevenson: -2500
Miguel Marriaga: +800
Over/Under Rounds: Check Back Later
Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 knockouts)
In his last six fights, Stevenson has six wins and no losses. He defeated Carlos Ruiz by unanimous decisions, Viorel Simion by TKO in the first round, Jessie Cris Rosales by TKO in the fourth round, Christopher Diaz by unanimous decision, Alberto Guevara by KO in the third round, and Joet Gonzalez by unanimous decision. Stevenson gets a knockout win 53.85% of the time.
Stevenson said this to worldboxingnews.net about his upcoming bout against Marriaga, “We’ve been trying to make this fight with Miguel Marriaga for a long time now. I wanted a strong opponent for my first title defense. He’s been in the ring with multiple world champions, and I am ready to prove that I am the best featherweight in the world. This is my fourth fight at Madison Square Garden, but my first as a world champion and it will be my best performance yet. I know all of my East Coast fans will come out and support on March 14.”
Miguel Marriaga (29-3, 25 knockouts)
In his last six fights, Marriaga has four wins and two losses. He defeated Derlinson Buriel by KO in the fourth round, Jose Estrella by KO in the fourth round, Ruben Cervera by corner retirement in the third round, and Alfredo Mejia Vargas by KO in the sixth round; while losing to Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision and Vasiliy Lomachenko by corner retirement in the seventh round. Marriaga gets a knockout win 78.13% of the time.
Marriaga said this to worldboxingnews.net about his upcoming bout against Stevenson, “I always wanted this fight, and the time is right now that he’s a world champion. He speaks often about how people are ducking him, but here I am. Colombia will have a new world champion March 14.”
Bob Arum, Top Rank promoter said this about the upcoming bout, “What a great two nights of boxing on ESPN and ESPN+, as we get to see Shakur Stevenson defend his title against the big-punching Marriaga and Mick Conlan continue one of boxing’s great traditions. New York is going to turn out in force to watch two of boxing’s great young stars.”
Boxing Picks
Stevenson is a huge favorite at -2500 in this bout, and we know that nothing is a given in boxing considering the judging. I can’t make much of a case for Marriaga but I am sure not laying the big price on Stevenson. The interesting part about this bout is that Marriaga has the power to hurt Stevenson, but whether he gets the chance is in debate. The best days of Marriaga are gone and I don’t think he can find enough openings to hurt Stevenson. There is no question that Stevenson doesn’t have as much experience as Marriaga but he is much younger and you can make a case that Marriaga is on his way down. I will avoid a side and simply take the rounds to go over the total.
Boxing Pick: Stevenson to win by decision and the rounds to go over the total
With the 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. Stevenson and Marriaga will take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on Saturday, March 14 and will be featured on ESPN.