This coming Saturday, October 15th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, WBC world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (27-2-1) defends his belt against BJ Flores (32-2-1) atop a big 12-fight boxing card promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. The fights are set to air on SKY TV in the U.K. The hometown product in Bellew is coming in as a massive -1375 favorite (bet $1,375 to win $100) over Flores, who is returning at +900 (bet $100 to win $900). The over/under for the 12-round bout has been set at 8 1/2, with the over paying -230 and the under at +170. Bellew is making the first title defense of the belt he captured this past May when he stopped South Africa’s Ilunga Makabu in the third round. Since taking a November of 2013 loss to Adonis Stevenson for the WBC’s world title at light heavyweight, Bellew moved up to the cruiserweight division and has since gone 7-0. His only other loss was also in a world title fight, when he lost a close majority decision to fellow countryman Nathan Cleverly with the WBO’s strap on the line. Bellew was able to avenge the loss to Cleverly during his run at cruiserweight, and Cleverly has since returned to light heavyweight and won a world title again. Bellew has been trash talking about a big fight, especially calling out heavyweight David Haye, so it is a bit dissappointing that he is facing an unranked, relatively inactive opponent in his first defense. In Flores, he faces a 37-year-old veteran who has fought just one time in the last 15 months, winning a UD in a six round bout on May 21st. Prior to that, he lost a fight for an Interim WBA title against Beibut Shumenov. The line reflects Bellew as a wide favorite. The WBC Silver belt is also on the line, as titleholder Luke Campbell (14-1) defends his title against veteran Derry Mathews (38-10-2). Campbell enters the 12-round showdown as a -525 favorite, with Mathews returning at +415. Campbell is a gold medalist from England’s 2012 Olympic team, and he is making the first defense of the WBC silver belt he won in his last outing by UD over Argenis Mendez (23-4-1). The southpaw’s lone loss came to the experienced Yvan Mendy of France (32-4-1) via split decision, and he has gone 2-0 since that fight. Mathews is coming off a 12-round decision loss to Terry Flanagan for the WBO world title this past March, and at 33 years old, he will throw a lot of experience and ring savvy at Campbell in this one. The over/under for this bout was set at 9 1/2, with both the over and the under paying back at -120. It bears noting that Mathews, for all his grit, has been stopped seven times in his career, and Campbell has 11 KOs among his 14 wins. Additonal fights are on the card are getting lines at the sports books. Check back closer to fight time to see if any additional fights from the card have popped up. Bantamweight – 12 rounds – BBBofC British Title Ryan Farrag +475 Ryan Burnett -650—Lightweight – 10 rounds
Gary Sykes +265 Sean Dodd -325 NOTE: Dodd defending his WBC International title, will enter the fight favored over Italy’s Francesco Patera (16-1). The original opponent was Gary Sykes, and Patera will enter a much wider underdog than Sykes was for this one.
