Saturday night in Michigan sees a fight between middleweights Claressa Shields and Maricela Cornejo, which is surely nothing more than a sparring session for the champion Shields. While all of the female middleweight belts are on the line, this bout feels like a mismatch of epic proportions and looks to primarily be able Shields avoiding a slip up.
However, despite the outcome being largely confirmed, there are still plenty of excellent bets to make on Shields vs. Cornejo ahead of this weekend’s clash in Detroit. With bookmaker William Hill offering lucrative proposition bets, we break down all the best bets to make in order to turn a profit on this fight still.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 3rd, 3:30 A.M. (GMT)
Looking at the outright betting odds, this bout is weighted heavily in Claressa Shield’s favour. The defending champion is at 1.02 compared to her opponent’s long odds of 13.00 for Maricela Cornejo.
These odds come not only because Shields is inarguably the best ever female boxer, who has been dominating the sport for years and has never lost a fight but also because of who Cornejo is. The American is a late replacement heading into this bout, is eight years older and has five losses to her name. Not exactly world-beating material.
The thing about Claressa Shields is she doesn’t often win by way of knockout. The champion is an expert at working other boxers around the ring, picking up points, and winning on decision. It’s something she’s done in 11 of her 13 professional fights and comes second nature to her. However, with Cornejo presenting such a straightforward bout for the American, we say this is an excellent time to bet on Shields picking up only the third knockout of her career.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 3rd, 3:30 A.M. (GMT)
Odds for a Shields knockout start at 3.50. However, there are several other options here as well. Backing Shields to get the knockout prior to 8.5 rounds means even more lucrative odds of 4.33, while simply wagering on the fight not to go the distance at 3.50 means a bet on either woman to win by knockout, with the same return as backing Shields alone.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 3rd, 3:30 A.M. (GMT)
The almost outrageous bet here is to back Maricela Cornejo. Perhaps the only way the 36-year-old would win is by landing a fluke knockout. She’s left six of her opponents seeing stars before, and this is boxing after all so anything can happen. It’s a long shot at 34.00 but would certainly have a heavy payday if it happened. We say go with the Shield’s knockout however, which has a healthy balance of risk and reward.
