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Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev Odds and Prediction

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Anthony Joshua puts his heavyweight world titles on the line against Kubrat Pulev at Cardiff’s Principal Stadium on October 28th, 2017.

Joshua will defend his WBA and IBF belts against the Pulev, who is the IBF’s mandatory challenger. Pulev has won 25 of 26 bouts with his only loss coming at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Since that defeat, Pulev has won five fights in a row including victories over Dereck Chisora, Samuel Peter and Kevin Johnson.

Next Big Thing

Pulev is a 6-4 fighter who utilizes his range very well. He is a smart boxer who doesn’t allow his opponents to box from the inside. He makes them fight his style and he’s good at finding holes in their defense. Although he isn’t known for his punching power, Pulev has recorded a knockout in six of his last 10 bouts.

Joshua, meanwhile, is the next big thing in the sport. He owns a perfect record of 19-0 with 19 KOs. Widely considered as the best heavyweight today, he possesses freak physical attributes. Joshua is large and masculine but he is fast, quick and agile. What makes him more dangerous is that he has natural punching power in both hands. There aren’t too many weaknesses in his game.

Massive Favorite

A.J. opened as a massive -5000 favorite at Bovada, while the Bulgarian brute came back as the +1400 underdog. Joshua should win this fight because he is the most physically gifted heavyweight in the business today. A.J.’s combination of size, speed, power and athleticism are rarely seen. We saw that on full display during his April 2017 victory over the great Wladimir Klitschko.

While many say that Joshua beat an over the hill old guy in Klitschko, it wasn’t easy. Wlad dominated the heavyweight division for over a decade and despite his advanced age, he didn’t show signs of slowing down. It was just that he faced a phenomenal athlete in Joshua and lost to him.

Too Much To Handle

Joshua’s defense isn’t very good. We saw Klitschko take advantage of that. Pulev fights a little like Klitschko. He uses his jab to set up his power right hand. Being an accomplished amateur boxer, Pulev is also a good boxer by heavyweight standards. As such, he can give Joshua some problems but in the end we think Joshua’s too much of a physical specimen for Pulev to handle.

Pulev will try to take advantage of Joshua’s defensive lapses but he too doesn’t have elite defense as well. Look for Joshua to unload his big bombs early in this fight. Not a question of the winner really. The odds are picking Joshua by a mile and we agree. As to how this fight will end, that’s more interesting. We’re picking Anthony Joshua to win by knockout in the first half of the fight.

USBA Heavyweight Title Preview: Travis Kauffman vs. Amir Mansour Odds and Prediction

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Heavyweight Travis Kauffman will face Amir Mansour for the USBA Heavyweight title at the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania on March 17th.

Road To Heavyweight Championship

The event has been billed as the road to the heavyweight championship as these two veteran fighters have never fought for a world title although both have come close before. Kauffman lost to Chris Arreola by split decision in December of 2015 before that bout was changed to a no-contest after Arreola failed a drug test.

Despite that, Nightmare earned a shot at Deontay Wilder in his next bout. Mansour meanwhile knocked down Dominic Breazeale before retiring on his stool after five rounds. Breazeale went on to challenge Anthony Joshua in his next bout. With missed opportunities like those in the past, a victory be either here should push him closer to that road to the title.

Red Hot

Because the Arreola bout was changed to a no-contest, Kauffman thus enters this fight unbeaten in his last 14 bouts. In his most recent bout, Kauffman stopped Josh Gormley in two rounds last September 2016. Although he doesn’t have many big names in his resume, his red hot streak remains impressive. Kauffman is physically imposing at 6-3 with a reach of 76.

He may not be a special talent like Joshua or Wilder, but he possesses punching power and is a very decently skilled fighter. Kauffman does have a powerful fight hand and if Mansour isn’t careful, things could end early. Kauffman’s last three knockout wins have come under round two.

Father Time

Amir Mansour isn’t just just fighting Travis Kauffman here, he’s also battling Father Time. At 44, Mansour may not have too many opportunities left. In his most recent bout, Mansour looked like he was on the way to upsetting Dominic Breazeale. But he retired on his stool after five rounds due to a bad cut on his mouth. The injury forced him off the ring for the last 13 months and that inactivity may prove to be costly for this aging veteran. Despite his age, Mansour remains to be in shape and as he proved against Breazeale, he still has a lot of punching power left in his fists. Mansour is a pressure fighter who loves to be the aggressor. Five of his last seven wins have been by knockout and it’s likely he’s going for another one against Kauffman.

Both fighters are currently at -115 in this pick ‘em bout. But given the age difference and the fact that Kauffman will be fighting in his home town, we’re giving our pick to Travis Kauffman. Not only will he have the crowd cheering on for him but  endurance matters in the heavyweight division. Sure, it was injury that forced Mansour to quit against Breazeale, but he was running out of gas after failing to put Breazeale away after the knockdown. We’re picking Travis Kauffman to win this bout, possibly on points or another ‘No Mas’ from Mansour.