The rematch of one of the biggest shocks in recent British boxing history takes place on Saturday night as Josh Warrington attempts to atone for his February loss to Mexican Mauricio Lara.
Elsewhere on the card, arguably the greatest female boxer of all time, Katie Taylor, takes on American Jennifer Han, and upcoming star Conor Benn faces Adrian Granados.
Warrington Must Stick To a Gameplan
Mauricio Lara’s victory over Josh Warrington was the first time the Leeds native had been defeated in his entire professional career. Lara was as big as 11/1 to get the job done in February but shocked the boxing world with his win.
Warrington went out chasing an early knockout against the young Mexican and was found out by the bigger puncher. Lara knocked Warrington down with a barrage of punches in the fourth before the favourite managed to survive until round nine, when Lara finally secured the victory.
Back in front of his home crowd, Warrington is priced up at 5/8 to get revenge for that defeat and secure the win, whereas Lara is 6/5 to repeat the trick. The draw is priced up at 18/1.
This fight will surely see a change in tactics from Warrington, who will look to steer clear of Lara’s heavy hands and use his class and experience to outwork the young featherweight.
The 6/5 about Warrington to win the fight on the judges’ scorecards appeals given he is not known as a knockout artist and can’t afford to underestimate Lara’s power as he did last time.
Taylor Hoping to Put On a Show in Leeds
Unbeaten in 18 bouts as a professional, Katie Taylor has been near flawless in her career so far. She has had a busy year, winning three teams in just over the last 12 months. Her narrow victory over Natasha Jonas in May demonstrated her ability to dig deep and get the result against a talented opponent.
Taylor’s wealth of recent experience is in contrast to her opponent here, Jennifer Han, who has fought just once in three years after giving birth recently.
Han is 11/1 to secure the upset, and Taylor is as short as 1/100 to get her 19th consecutive win. In such a betting heat, it may be worth siding with Taylor to win the tie via knockout at 19/10. The Irish star has won a third of her 18 victories in that manner, and Han may be ring rusty after such a long time out.
Patience Could Be the Key for Benn
The steep rise of Conor Benn shows no signs of slowing down, and he may have too much for American Adrian Granados.
After his impressive first-round knockout of Samuel Vargas last time out, Benn is as short as 1/20 to get another win here. Granados is 29/4, and the draw is 28/1.
War Ready!
4 Days it’s showtime!! #BennVsGranadospic.twitter.com/5fWW2MBatU
— Conor Nigel Benn (@ConorNigel) August 31, 2021
Benn has shown throughout his burgeoning career the power that he possesses. However, his opponent has only ever been knocked out once in 33 bouts. Benn may be forced to work harder than he did against Vargas and the 16/5 about him securing victory in rounds seven to nine appeals.
*All odds correct at time of writing
