The biggest night in boxing this weekend will take place at Oklahoma’s Osage Casino, with a full card leading up to the fight for the vacant WBO World Light Heavyweight Championship, featuring Joe Smith Jr and Maksim Vlasov. The main event will go 12 rounds. We’ll give you a full preview of the championship tilt, along with the rest of the weekend’s boxing matchups.
Boxing News: Top Fights for This Weekend
Saturday, April 10
Conor Benn (-1200) vs Samuel Vargas (+550) — Welterweight, 10 rounds
Nick Campbell (-7000) vs Petr Frohlich (+1400) — Heavyweight, 6 rounds
Ebanie Bridges (+450) vs Shannon Courtenay (-800) — Bantamweight, 10 rounds
Alexander Espinoza (+650) vs Ukashir Farooq (-1500) — Bantamweight, 10 rounds
Maria Lindberg (+1150) vs Savannah Marshall (-4000) — Middleweight, 10 rounds
Joe Smith Jr (-330) vs Maxim Vlasov (+255) — WBO World Light Heavyweight Championship, 12 rounds
Smith enters the ring with a record of 26-3 lifetime, with 21 of those victories coming via knockout. Vlasov comes in with a 45-3 career record, with 26 knockout victories. Smith’s knockout percentage (81%) is significantly ahead of Vlasov’s (58%), suggesting that Smith comes in with a significant power edge.
Smith is the younger fighter (31 years old, to Vlasov’s 34). Vlasov stands four inches taller than Smith, and both fight with an orthodox stance.
Smith made his professional debut in 2009, while Vlasov joined the pro ranks in 2005. Smith is the top-ranked fighter in WBO’s light heavyweight standings, and RING has him at #4 among light heavyweights. Vlasov has WBO’s #2 ranking in the division.
Over his last five fights, Smith has won three times, two via knockout and one on the cards. His last tilt came on August 22, 2020, when he knocked out Eleider Alvarez in the ninth round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He beat Jesse Hart via split decision in January 2020 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in New Jersey. Before that two-bout winning streak, he lost to Dmitry Bivol unanimously on the cards in March 2019, when they were fighting for the WBA World Light Heavyweight belt at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in New York.
Vlasov comes in having won four of his last five fights. He beat Omar Garcia via TKO in May 2019 in Krasnodar, Russia. He lost his fight before that, losing to Krzysztof Glowacki unanimously on the cards in a 12-round fight at UIC Pavilion in Chicago. He had a three-bout winning streak going before that, as he had beaten Olanrewaju Durodola in February 2018 via TKO, Vikapita Meroro via knockout and Denton Daley via TKO, with all three of those fights taking place in Russia.
Smith comes in as the favorite, having an edge in terms of youth and athleticism, as well as in his greater knockout percentage. However, in recent action, Vlasov has delivered more knockouts in his last five fights than has Smith. Given the relatively even record coming into the fight, I’m going with the value.
Final Prediction:
Vlasov wins via decision
Brian Howard (+900) vs Efe Ajagba (-2000) — Heavyweight, 10 rounds
This is the co-main event to the championship bout between Smith and Vlasov. Ajagba is undefeated, with a 14-0 record (11 KO). Howard comes in with a 15-4 record (12 KO). Ajagba is 26 years old, while Howard is 40; Howard made his pro debut in 2010, while Ajagba’s debut came in 2017. However, Howard has had a lot more time between fights, as he only has fought five more times than has Ajagba at the pro level. Even so, given Ajagba’s recent run, there is no reason to go against the favorite.
Final Prediction:
Ajagba wins via knockout
Jared Anderson (-6000) vs Jeremiah Karpency (+1300) — Heavyweight, 8 rounds
Jesus Ahumada (+1100) vs Robson Concelcao (-3000) — Super Featherweight, 8 rounds
Jerwin Ancajas (-750) vs Jonathan Javier Rodriguez (+485) — Super Flyweight — 12 rounds
Eimantas Stanionis (-800) vs Thomas Dulorme (+450) — Welterweight, 12 rounds
Jaron Ennis (-1000) vs Sergey Lipinets (+500) — Welterweight, 12 rounds
Boxing Betting Odds
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