Boxing: Gvozdyk vs Beterbiev Odds and Prediction

Two of the four major light heavyweight titles are set to be unified at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 18. Undefeated Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk is making his second WBC and lineal light heavyweight titles defense, while also-undefeated Artur Beterbiev defends his IBF light heavyweight strap for the third time. The Ukraine native, Gvozdyk, is a -125 favorite with the Russian, Beterbiev, coming back at -105.

Odds Analysis

This is the third time in Gvozdyk’s last four fights that he has been favored by less than -250. The two previous bouts were against Isaac Chilemba and Adonis Stevenson and both ended by knockout. Meanwhile, this is the first time Beterbiev has been an underdog, as his closest odds were -500 when he fought Radivoje Klajdzic in May, a fight that ended with a fifth-round knockout.

How Will This Fight Play Out?

The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, Gvozdyk, is rarely caught out of position, moving around the ring looking for angles to let his heavy hands go. When the Ukraine native finds his opportunities to land cleanly, he does so viciously, with 14 of his 17 professional wins ending by knockout. His most devastating knockout may have come last December when he won the WBC and lineal light heavyweight belts against Adonis Stevenson in the 11th round. That fight would be the last for Stevenson as he was put into a medically induced coma on the following Monday and was in that condition for several weeks.

Perhaps matching Gvozdyk in punching power is Beterbiev. Only one of his 14 professional fights has made it past the seventh round and all have ended by knockout. The Russia native is extremely aggressive when he decides to attack. Rarely does he throw one punch at a time, rather he sets up his opportunity and essentially bull-rushes his foe with a flurry of punches looking to put him away.

Both men have outstanding conditioning but go about their fights in drastically different ways. Beterbiev is like a pitbull, marching his opponents down while looking to get into a phone booth and exchange hands. He is willing to eat a few shots if it means he can land as well.

Conversely, Gvozdyk is a technician, moving out of danger swiftly like a cat, while maintaining range with his long jabs and straights. That being said, when he smells blood in the water, he goes on a full-on attack. The big question for this fight is will Beterbiev be able to corner Gvozdyk, or is the Ukrainian’s footwork going to keep him safe?

Prediction: Oleksandr Gvozdyk (-125) via decision (+300)

Odds as of October 18 at Sportsbook