Former WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders is stepping up to the super-middleweight division to face Serbian-born boxer Shefat Isufi for the vacant WBO title in April, where he is odds-on to claim the belt. Saunders held his world title for three years before it was stripped from him after failing a drugs test at the back end of last year.
It has been a frustrating 12 months for Saunders, as those who follow the latest boxing news will know that he has been linked with fights with Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. However, he was unable to secure a bout with either of those two global superstars. He is now stepping up to super-middleweight, where the bookmakers feel he will get past the unbeaten Isufi at Wembley Arena in London in April.
The British boxer has yet to taste defeat in 27 professional fights. His most recent appearance was against Charles Adamu last December where he was long odds-on in the betting and he justified those odds with victory in the fourth round. This will be his biggest fight since he defended his WBO middleweight title against David Lemieux in Canada in December 2017.
Saunders is -5000 with the bookies to beat Isufi in April; therefore, those backing him will need to look for a free bets & bonus offers to make it pay. His Germany-based opponent has a 27-3-2 record but is undefeated at super-middleweight.
Saunders Odds-On to Win on Points in Method of Victory Betting
13 of Saunders’ victories have come via stoppage and he is +250 to win inside the 12 rounds, while he can be backed at -125 to get the result from the judges’ scorecards. Isufi, on the other hand, is +1400 to cause an upset in this contest and win the first world title of his career.
Callum Smith is currently the leading British boxer in the Super-Middleweight division after he won the inaugural World Boxing Super Series in 2018 and at the same time claimed the WBA title in the division. If Saunders can win the WBO title, he could set up a showdown with the man from Liverpool which would be a very difficult fight to price up for the bookmakers as both men would be undefeated going into it.
Smith defeated the now retired George Groves in the final of that series in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to justifying favouritism in the betting on that contest. His promoter Eddie Hearn has said he will make his first defence of his belt in the United States in May against an unnamed opponent at this stage.
Chris Eubank Jr Lands Gamble to Beat DeGale
Chris Eubank Jr was subject to a huge gamble last weekend in the betting on his fight with former world champion James DeGale. Following strong support from punters, Eubank Jr went off as the -125 favourite and those who backed him got it right.
Saunders beat Eubank Jr in a thrilling contest back in 2014. A rematch looks very likely at some stage now as there is no love lost between the two men. For now, though, Saunders will have to get the job done against Isufi in order to set up some massive domestic showdowns later in 2019.