Bet on Some Great Heavyweight Boxing
2021 was supposed to be the year when we finally saw Anthony Joshua take on Tyson Fury for four world heavyweight titles.
Sportsbooks had their odds ready for this momentous fight. It’s not happening though, and we don’t know when the two might get in the ring.
In the 1970s heavyweight boxing ruled the roost. To have fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman in the division at the same time was incredible. The current heavyweight division isn’t in that class but it’s becoming very competitive. Those of you who love betting have some great matchups on the way.
Anthony Joshua holds the WBA, IBF and WBO titles He also has the IBO title, but no one really cares about that. The mere fact that so many belts exist in boxing is a total joke of course. The promoters may well boast of a fight for four titles, but we all know the odds on anyone winning and keeping all four titles is near impossible. It’d just be a matter of time before one governing body strips a champion for failing to meet their mandatory challenger.
Joshua has had just one fight since 2019. He successfully defended his titles against Kubrat Pulev in December of last year. With the Fury fight off, he’s putting his belts on the line against Oleksandr Usyk in London on September 25.
Sportsbooks have Joshua as the favourite, but this is a potential disaster just waiting to happen. Usyk is unbeaten as a professional and a former cruiserweight champion. He’s had two fights in the heavyweight division, his most recent being a win over Dereck Chisora last Halloween.
Usyk won’t make life easy for the defending champion. The odds are he’ll give Joshua a hard fight and it might take a while for Joshua to get used to his southpaw style. Why the sportsbooks believe Joshua will win this fight is because of the opinion that Usyk is a blown-up cruiserweight. Think back to the glory days of the 70s when light-heavyweight king Bob Foster couldn’t cope when challenging for the heavyweight title.
The odds are that Joshua will beat Usyk. There will be some uncomfortable moments, but Joshua’s power should be enough to beat his opponent and see him again retaining his titles.
The sportsbooks will swiftly be giving odds on the possible Joshua v Fury match-up. Or will it be Joshua v Wilder perhaps for all the belts? Betting on Fury to retain his WBC title against Wilder on October 9 is already seeing fans having split opinions.
Boxing is a sport that is great to gamble on. Every single punch could be the last one of the fight. Not every state can legally bet on this great sport. It’s a different situation in states such as Illinois though. Find out more about the Betrivers promotional code for Illinois players and enjoy betting on the great heavyweight fights on the horizon.
Will Fury retain his title or will Wilder (just as Joshua did) recover from a bad defeat and regain his heavyweight title? We know that Wilder can floor Fury and more than once. What if the knockdowns in the first fight had happened earlier on when Wilder was fresher? It’s like when Wilder fought Ortiz in defence of his title. Ortiz looked to be defying the odds with the champ on the rope, but it was later in the fight, and he ran out of steam.
Fury will of course moan forever that he won the first fight. He has to learn that all his tomfoolery probably cost him that fight. Sticking your tongue out and acting like an idiot does not convince the judges to give you the round.
The second fight was as eventful as the first. The odds on Fury stopping Wilder weren’t that good before the rematch. Fury dominated the fight, but something just wasn’t right with Wilder that night. He’s come up with plenty of excuses for his poor performance, some possible and others ridiculous.
To defy the odds and become a two-time world heavyweight champion, Wilder has to focus totally on his tactics. Fury will be as elusive as ever and act in a crazy manner in the lead up to this trilogy fight. Wilder just has to remember he can knock Fury down; his punching power is good enough to beat Fury. It’s a fight not everyone wants to see but it has the potential to be a stunning one.
What cannot happen in the next year or so is that the heavyweight scene is dominated by these boxers. It’s a competitive division now and others deserve title shots. It may well be that the governing bodies stripping someone of their titles that allows an opening up of the heavyweight scene.
James Joyce and Dillian Whyte both deserve title shots. Whyte is the WBC Interim champion, a rather pointless one to be honest. Whyte v Joyce would be a good fight for the future. Then there’s former champion Andy Ruiz Jr who is on the comeback trail. Joseph Parker and the evergreen Luis Ortiz are also after title shots. It’s not at the level the 1970s but heavyweight boxing is again a fascinating division.