Not three weeks after our last Hookmaker spared some blushes following the debacle that was the Grand National, we're back with another hum-dinger of a bet.
Last time out we picked six outcomes from as many fights, and as predicted, our 11/1 acca landed with Manny Pacquiao's points victory over Tim Bradley to the 5am shrieks of those who braved it. It The Hookmaker's second clean sweep in three attempts.
Tonight, we're looking to go one better. Seven fights. Seven predictions. Seven figures. Although, once again, that depends entirely on how much you invest. But this will certainly go some way to covering you for Bank Holiday Sunday pints.
It's 18/1 - a bloody big one - but here we go:
Jamie Conlan - By Decision or Technical Decision - vs Anthony Nelson 10/11
Conlan's clash with Junior Granadas above was one of the most memorable on Irish shores in some time. The Mexican's mettle will go down in boxing folklore in Dublin, Belfast and beyond, but crucially it would have also proved to the fighter himself that he's capable of overcoming adversity en route to a potential world title crack.
In Commonwealth champion Anthony Nelson, Conlan faces an undefeated but slightly less-skilled opponent with just two KOs in his 11 victories. Neither man will be looking to take the other out, but Conlan's drive and boxing ability will see him over the line in a tough contest.
Liam Walsh - By KO or TKO or Disqualification - vs Troy James: 4/6
Coming off the back of two stoppages, including one in a rematch with Joe Murray, Norfolk's Liam Walsh should become the first fighter to stop Troy James tonight at the Copper Box Arena.
With 13 KOs in 19 victories, Walsh certainly packs a whack, and while James went the distance with a young Terry Flanagan back in 2012 he hasn't fought anyone of note since. Now 32, you get the impression that Walsh is catching him at the right time to make a statement.
Hughie Fury - By Any Method - vs Fred Kassi: 1/6
Younger cousin of the World heavyweight champ, Hughie Fury will beat Fred Kassi, but it's difficult to make a call as to how.
Many believed Cameroon's Kassi beat upcoming Anthony Joshua opponent Dominic Breazeale last time out only for the 36-year-old to get shat on by the judges. Just a fight earlier, he fought former world title contender Chris Arreola to a draw, but in late 2014 he was stopped by the limited Amir Mansour. In short, he's a mixed bag, and any Fred Kassi could turn up in London tonight.
For this reason, and due to the supremely-talented Fury's penchant for pure boxing as opposed to all-out destruction, I'm shying away from a more specific prediction.
Badou Jack - By Decision or Technical Decision - vs Lucian Bute: 10/11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hlBnOxz1ko
Carl Froch has left a more lasting impact on the super-middleweight division than boxing gives him credit for. For one thing, Lucian Bute has looked a gun-shy shell of his former self since his destruction at the fists of 'The Cobra' back in 2013. For another, the same could be said for George Groves, whom Jack threw down with and outpointed in his first world title defence last September.
Tonight, Bute looks to usurp Jack after his own spirited showing against James DeGale last time out - his chin having seemingly stiffened in the intervening years. Jack, for his part, was considered the weakest of the super-middleweight champs before fending off Groves, and the Swede will fancy his chances of doing the same to Bute, setting up a unification fight with DeGale - who defends his belt on the same card tonight - in the autumn.
Edwin Rodriguez - By Any Method - vs Thomas Williams Jr: 3/10
La Bomba's sole defeat arrived at the hands of pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward. Aside from that wholly understandable blot on his copybook, Rodriguez has been relatively formidable in dealing with opponents; 19 of his 28 victories have arrived by way of knockout, and since his reversal to Ward, he's won three of four inside the distance.
Williams - once a lauded prospect - was beaten up and stopped by the feather-fisted Gabriel Campillo in his first step-up in class back in 2014, and the only reason I'm not betting on Rodriguez to inflict the same result on him is because I can't find a bookie with a market for a KO.
James DeGale - by KO or TKO or Disqualification - vs Rogelio Medina: 2/5
Medina worked his way into a mandatory shot with four consecutive KOs of unheralded opposition, but with six defeats on his record, and three by stoppage, he'll come up short against London's DeGale in Washington tonight.
It's a gimme fight designed so as not to interfere with a DeGale - Jack unification bout in the coming months, and 'Chunky' should dispatch of his opponent with minimal fuss.
Andre Berto - By Any Method - vs Victor Ortiz: 8/13
This is one of my favourite fights in ages; two former world champions, both still relatively young but perceived to be washed up, throwing back to their finest respective hours in a rematch - because fuck it, why not?
In 2011, the oft-maligned Victor Ortiz edged an unbeaten Andre Berto in a brawl for the ages to capture the WBC World welterweight crown. In his following fight, he was controversially stopped by Floyd Mayweather before quitting against then-unknown Josesito Lopez due to a broken jaw. After an 18-month hiatus, he was bombed out by Luis Collazo in January 2014, and presumed to be finished.
Ortiz has since returned with two stoppage victories, while Berto's career has followed a similar trajectory to that of his 2011 opponent - W-L-L-W-W-L - to be exact, including victory over the aforementioned Lopez and defeat to Mayweather in Floyd's final bout.
Ortiz, in many ways, ruined Berto before ruining himself. Considering his part-time approach to the sport since his broken jaw, and Berto's presumed sharpness having just fought Mayweather, I expect the Haitian to inflict revenge on Ortiz later tonight, but can see it going all the way to the cards once more.
The Hookmaker
- Jamie Conlan - By Decision or Technical Decision - vs Anthony Nelson: 10/11
- Liam Walsh - By KO or TKO or Disqualification - vs Troy James: 4/6
- Hughie Fury - By Any Method - vs Fred Kassi: 1/6
- Badou Jack - By Decision or Technical Decision - vs Lucian Bute: 10/11
- Edwin Rodriguez - By Any Method - vs Thomas Williams Jr: 3/10
- James DeGale - by KO or TKO or Disqualification - vs Rogelio Medina: 2/5
- Andre Berto - By Any Method - vs Victor Ortiz: 8/13
You should get close to 18/1 with all bookies.
