Saturday is a huge, huge YUUUGE day for boxing, as in Riyadh, seven world titles are up for grabs. We're talking Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2! Joseph Parker vs. Daniel Dubois! Vergil Ortiz! Shakur Stevenson! It's just a ridiculously stacked card.
So what are we going to do? Preview a different card from the night before! We're contrarians around here! Sports hipsters!
This one is on UFC Fight Pass at 10 PM Eastern Friday night, from Santa Ynez, California. They call it "Hollywood Fight Nights," even though Hollywood is 120 miles away. Let's take a look! Odds courtesy of Bookmaker.eu as of Wednesday, 2/19, evening.
Luis Hernandez Ramos (23-6) vs. Gor Yeritsyan (19-1), welterweights, 8 rounds
The square-jawed Hernandez Ramos, after starting his career 21-0, has become a gatekeeper who has let most of his opponents walk through that gate, losing 6 of his last 8.
His opponent, Yeritsyan, has already beaten a dude that Hernandez Ramos has lost to, and unlike Hernandez Ramos, Yeritsyan isn't moving up in weight. At -1600, you will need to bet a lot to win a little on Yeritsyan, but he will win.
Daniel Berrera (8-0-1) vs. Christopher Rios (10-2), super flyweights, 8 rounds
According to Boxrec, this fight gives us a match between the world's 63rd-best super flyweight (Berrera) vs. the 65th-best. That's close!
In his last two fights, Barrera has just squeaked out decision wins over his opponents. Rios also fought in close squeakers in his last two fights, but lost them. He also only narrowly beat a guy who was 11-6 at the time, which makes Barrera's resume look a touch better. I would make him a -200 favorite. Instead he is a -310 favorite, with Rios available at +235. So I'm taking Rios.
Cain Sandoval (14-0) vs. Mark Bernaldez (25-6), super lightweights, 10 rounds
This is the headliner, thought I'm not sure why. "Sugar" Cain Sandoval (doesn't that sounds more like the name of an MMA fighter?) is a rising star, just 22-years-old and with all but two of his wins coming by KO. There are definitely fighters with 6 or more losses on their blotter that could nonetheless make for an intriguing fight, but Bernaldez doesn't seem to be one of them.
The Pilipino Bernaldez is 6-4 in U.S. fights, but he hasn't really even been a gatekeeper; they put him in with bums a lot of the times for some reason. Anyway, I will be shocked if Sandoval does not knock him out, and there is no price too high I can place on him. He is a -2150 favorite. If you parlay Sandoval and Yeritsyan, you can bet $9 to win $1. That's what I'm doing. I'm a high-roller over here.
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