Artur Beterbiev, who holds both the WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles, will return to the ring to take on Adam Deines in Moscow, with the action on ESPN. Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KO) has not fought since he knocked out Oleksandr Gvodzyk back in 2019, and the German challenger would like nothing more than to take both belts away from him. Check out the full list of Boxing betting choices from XBet’s boxing page as well as our thoughts on the title fight.
Top Boxing Fights for This Weekend
Saturday, March 20
Azizbek Abdugofurov (+135) vs Pavel Silyagin (-165) — Super Middleweight (12 rounds)
Abdugoforuv makes his first entry into the ring in 19 months in this fight, taking on onetime amateur star Silyagin. This is the co-main event to the Beterbiev-Deines title fight (see below). You can catch both of these fights starting at 3:00 pm ET on ESPN.
Abdugoforuv (13-0, 5 KO) will get an opponent of unique skill in Silyagin (6-0, 5-0 KO). Silyagin won the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2015, while an amateur, and he turned pro in February 2020. Six fights in a little over a year is a busy schedule, but he has not shown signs of weariness yet, having taken down Orkhan Gadzhiev (RTD 2) in his last fight, giving Gadzhiev his first loss.
- Alexander Besputin (-4000) vs Maximiliano Ricardo Veron (+1100) — Welterweight (10 rounds)
- Bec Connolly (+1100) vs Ramia Ali (-4000) — Featherweight (6 rounds)
- Ellie Scotney (-2000) vs Mailys Gangloff (+900) — Featherweight (6 rounds)
- Krzysztof Glowacki (+310) vs Lawrence Okolie (-410) — Cruiserweight (12 rounds)
- Chris Billiam-Smith (-1600) vs Vasil Ducar (+700) — Cruiserweight (10 rounds)
- Bradley Rea (-250) vs Lee Cutler (+195) — Middleweight (8 rounds)
- Anthony Fowler (-1400) vs Jorge Fortea (+650) — Super Welterweight (10 rounds)
- Adam Deines (+1305) vs Artur Beterbiev (-2850) — WBC/IBF Light Heavyweight Title (12 rounds)
O/U 4 ½ rounds: Over -150 / Under +130
Beterbiev comes in as the heavy favorite because of his perfect knockout record. It is important to remember, though, that he is now 36 years old, and that a number of injury problems (and promotional breakdowns) have led to him only having fought 15 times since his professional debut back in 2013.
Beterbiev has an indomitable record, but his fighting style would not necessarily tell you that. His defense is anything but ironclad, and as we saw in his fight against Callum Johnson, a challenger who can bring bombs can put a dent in Beterbiev. There is an element of danger in a Beterbiev fight, in terms of vulnerability for the champion, that keeps the intrigue alive. After all, Beterbiew has always been more of a fighter than a boxer, relying on those immense fists to do the job before technique even has a chance to take a seat in the arena.
Deines comes in as a decent lefty who has quick hands and a jab that can stand his opponent off and put him off guard, but he has never shown the sort of fighting acumen to put a stop to Beterbiev’s pressure, which he tends to bring without mercy. Deines has only lost once in his career, but that loss came against Meng Fanlong in 2019 — and it was not particularly impressive, either in terms of defense or power on Deines’ part. I expect to see Beterbiev simply head on forward, moving through Deines’ early barrage and then deliver punishment. It is true that Beterbiev is likely to come in with no small amount of rust, and his speed may be a bit down due to prior injuries, two factors that could make this fight last a few rounds longer than it might otherwise, but Beterbiev should prevail in dominant fashion.
- Faroukh Kourbanov (+900) vs Joe Cordina (-2000) — Super Featherweight (10 rounds)
- Maurice Hooker (+525) vs Vergil Ortiz Jr (-1100) — Welterweight (12 rounds)
- Anabel Ortiz (+475) vs Seniesa Estrada (-700)
- Alex Martin (+350) vs Luis Alberto Hernandez Ramos (-500) — Super Lightweight (10 rounds)
