In a surprising twist, this week sees a boxing title fight taking place on a Thursday night in Las Vegas. The Michelob Arena will play host to the WBO Super-Lightweight clash between Teofimo Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz, where the former will be looking to defend his title and set up a unification bout later in the year.
There’s plenty on the line for both boxers in Nevada this week. For Lopez, a unification fight against Devin Haney is far from guaranteed—the American will need to win emphatically to further his chances of setting up that clash. For Ortiz, he’ll be determined to prove that his 3-1-1 record across his past five fights is not indicative of a decline. Again, an emphatic win here would go a long way to making that point.
Who will make the stronger case on Thursday night? We break down the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill ahead of this title fight and outline the best bets to make on Lopez vs. Ortiz this week.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 7th, 6:00 A.M. (GMT)
Looking at the outright betting odds, defending champion Lopez is a heavy, heavy favourite. The current WBO belt holder pays just 1.14 for a win, compared to Ortiz’s odds of 5.50 for victory. In terms of how bookmaker William Hill sees this one ending, Lopez by points is the most popular option at 1.80. Next is the champ winning by knockout at 2.87, while Ortiz’s chances are looking long at 8.00 for a decision and 13.00 for a knockout.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 7th, 6:00 A.M. (GMT)
Given the scant outright betting odds, we recommend wagering on either method of victory or some alternate round betting here. One of Lopez’s strengths is his ability to throw immense volume at an opponent and extract a knockout not through power but through sheer quantity of strikes.
With Lopez racking up two thirds of his career wins by way of knockout, backing him to do so again in this clash for a return of 2.87 feels like a strong bet. Even better would be wagering on the American to do so late in the fight for an even higher return.
Chances are he’ll play this one safe and feel Ortiz out initially but end strong with some big flurries of offense. A knockout in rounds 7-12 pays handsomely at 4.00, while taking a slightly riskier bet of rounds 9-12 would yield a return of 6.00.
