Promoter Eddie Hearn and his Matchroom Boxing are at the 02 Arena in London, England this Saturday December 12th with one of the biggest cards of the year. The main event sees Heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist and undefeated (14-0) prospect Anthony Joshua take on rival Dillian Whyte in a match that has been in the works for months. Joshua is the golden prodigy of the Heavyweight division, as Hearn signed him after the Olympics and he has done a very deliberate (some would say slow and soft) job of bringing up Joshua. Whyte was a formerrival of Joshua who owns a stoppage victory over the “golden boy” in the amateur and Whyte has maintained a perfect (16-0) record himself. The fruits of Hearns’ work are there, as Joshua-Whyte are the headline fight at London’s O2. Whyte has done a credible job of playing the bad guy here, as he has assailed Joshua with a constant barrage of derision and disrespect. The sport books sitll have Joshua a huge (1500) favorite in the fight, with Whyte returning at (+1000). The bout is likely to be explosive, especially if the over/under number of 2 1/2 is any indication. The over is paying (-180) and the under is set at (+140). IF Joshua is able to win impressively, the talk of a Tyson Fury vs Joshua showdown will certainly heat up in merry old England. Also of particular interst on this card is the Middleweight 12 round bout between Chris Eubank Jr. (20-1) and Gary O”Sullivan (22-1). Eubank Jr. has an interim piece of the WBO title, and he is a big (-1000) favorite heading into this fight with O’Sullivan, who is returning at (-1000). The full WBO WOrld title is on the line on December 19th when champion Andy Lee (34-2-1) defends his belt against Billy Joe Saunders (22-0). The winner of Eubank Jr. vs O’Sullivan could be in line to face the winner of Saunders and Lee. The Lee vsd Saunders match is practically an even pick ’em match at the books, and it is likely that promoter Harn would like to see Eubank Jr and saunders win their respective bouts, as the re-match between the two with a world title on the line would be a huge seller. Below are the lines available now for this card, and several of the other bouts on the 11-fight event could still pop up at the books. Recently added to the event is Heavyweight Dereck Chisora (23-5) who last fought on December 5th and is looking to put his name back in the hat at the top of the Heavyweight division. Lightweight 12 rounds – Ismael Barroso +270 o10½ -110 Kevin Mitchell -330 u10½ -130 Cruiserweight 12 rounds – Mateusz Masternak +340 o10½ -185 Tony Bellew -425 u10½ +145 Welterweight 12 rounds – Gianluca Branco +750 o9½ -550 Paul Malignaggi -1165 u9½ +400 Featherweight 10 rounds – Jorge Sanchez +900 o8½ -210 Josh Warrington -1850 u8½ +160
