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Oleksandr Usyk (15-0, 11 KOs) and Tony Bellew (30-2-1, 20 KOs) will battle Saturday for Usyk’s, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO cruiserweight belts at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
When you see boxers who are in the upper echelon of the sport lock horns, there are bets to be made. Let’s take a closer look at Usyk vs. Bellew.
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Usyk vs. Bellew odds, expert pick
Online sportsbook proboxingodds.com has Usyk as a heavy favorite (as of Nov. 7). The logical theory is oddsmakers are looking at Usyk being regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and Bellew hasn’t fought at cruiserweight in over two years after taking his last two fights at heavyweight with David Haye.
The undisputed cruiserweight champion comes in at ridiculous minus -850, which means you’d need to wager $850 to win $100. Bellew is a plus-590 meaning if you bet $100, you’d net $590. The odds have started to lower slightly for Bellew, initially starting at +600, while Usyk’s odds have started to come down as well as they initially were at +900. More people are putting money on Bellew, which something to watch out for as we inch closer to fight day.
Usyk steamrolled through the World Boxing Super Series in defeating Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gbadiev, respectively to not only capture the Muhammad Ali Trophy for winning the tournament but to become the first undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Bellew had won the vacant WBC title in May 2016 after notching a third-round knockout over Ilunga Makabu and then went on to run through BJ Flores the following October. He proceeded to move up to heavyweight and stopped Haye in back-to-back fights. Bellew said he would come back for a huge offer and the right opponent. Usyk checked both of those boxes.
Two intriguing prop bets to watch: Usyk winning by decision and Usyk winning by stoppage. Current odds have Usyk winning by decision at +175, but dropping, so jump on that quickly before it falls any further. Odds of Usyk winning by stoppage are at +107. The competition has gotten tougher for Usyk in his last two fights, having to go the distance against Brieis and Gbadiev. Bellew has more skill than Brieis and is about even with Gbadiev.
Like he did with Brieis and Gbadiev, Usyk needs to come out and be aggressive from the opening bell. For the fourth consecutive fight, the 31-year-old will be fighting in his opponent’s backyard. Getting off to a quick start will negate the crowd from getting into the fight and giving Bellew an extra added push he wouldn’t normally have. Usyk has to pump the jab at every which way. He has a four-inch reach advantage and establishing it keeps Bellew at a distance and allows him to dictate where the fight goes.
Bellew has everything to gain and nothing to lose. This is the last fight of his career. He can go in there and throw caution to the wind. Expect Bellew to follow the blueprint of the Haye fights and that gets on the inside and keep throwing power punches to let Usyk know he isn’t going anywhere and is there to compete.
The Englishman has to wonder though if the power will still translate from dropping back down to cruiserweight. Bellew went up from light heavyweight to cruiserweight then to heavyweight and now back down to the 200-pound weight clbad. Jumping up to face Haye and back down to take on one of the best the sport has to offer is a lot to ask out of Bellew. Maybe Bellew just doesn’t care about the consequences and realizes after Saturday, he will be off into the sunset and never step back inside the ring for a competitive affair.
Usyk has too much skill and should win going away. You should put a good-size wager on this one going all 12 rounds. Bellew isn’t going down without a fight and will go out giving it 100 percent.
SN pick: Usyk by decision
Best odds: William Hill (+175)
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