The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York plays host to Showtime boxing this Saturday night, with a pair of feature fights showcasing Heavyweight talent. WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (35-0) makes the third defense of his belt against Poland’s Artur Szpilka (21-1). The books have put Wilder as a (-1000) favorite, with Szpilka returning at (+650). The 12 round bout has the over/under set at 9 1/2, with the over paying at (+260) and the under returning at (-320). Wilder is a polarizing figure in heavyweight boxing. There are those that love his length and athleticism, while others decry his pedigree and level of opposition coming up. He has held the WBC belt for a year now, and Szpilka will be his toughest defense to date. Szpilka too is stepping up a level, but he has shown that he can get up off the canvas and win fights and he has good power himself. Wilder could use an impressive performance to silence some of the critics, but more importantly, he needs to win for the sake of American Heavyweight boxing. No pressure, Deontay, no pressure! When the IBF stripped Tyson Fury of their World title this past December, the belt became vacant and a match between Vyacheslav Glazkov (21-0-1) and Charles Martin (22-0-1) was fast-tracked to fill the vacant belt. This match has a much closer, bettable line as Glazkov is favored at (-160) and Martin is returning at (+140). There is no over/under line currently at Several Bookmakers. This is the biggest stage either man has operated on, with Martin especially being labelled an “unknown quantity”. Glazkov comes with an extensive amateur background and he has matches on his pro resume against the likes of Malik Scott, Steve Cunningham and Tomasz Adamek. The level of opposition is much higher than that maintained by Martin, however, it bears noting that Glazkov weighs in around 200 pounds and though Cunningham, Scott and Adamek are good, solid wins, all are men that are the same stature or smaller than him. That will not be the case with Martin who is taller, has more reach and will out-weigh Glazkov by 20 pounds or so. Martin has 20 KOs in his 22 wins, so he will be looking to KO a smaller man this weekend from the underdog spot. The only other match-up at the books for this card comes in the Middleweight division at 10 rounds as undefeated Maciej Sulecki (21-0) takes on veteran Derrick Findley (22-17-1). Sulecki is a strong (-1200) favorite over Findley, who is returning at (+600). Several other matches on the card may wind up at the books as we get closer to fight time. The vacant WBO World Female Welterweight title is on the line as Amanda Serrano (26-1-1) faces Helen Joseph (12-3-1) and the undercard features a pair of unbeaten prospects as Heavyweight Adam Kownacki (12-0) and Light Heavyweight Mike Lee (15-0) both are booked to compete.
