Crawford vs Benavidez Jr. Betting Odds and Pick

The No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world Terence “Bud” Crawford is back in action, laying his WBO welterweight title on the line against undefeated Jose Benavidez Jr. this Saturday at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. The current champion is a -2500 favorite in this bout with the challenger coming back at +1000.

Crawford has been favored in each of his last seven fights with an average closing line of -1335. The current WBO titleholder’s lowest odds were -402 when he defended his title against Viktor Postol. The fight went the distance with Crawford earning the unanimous-decision victory in July 2016. Meanwhile, Benavidez has been favored in his last two bouts with an average closing line of -2646 and he won both of those fights by knockout.

Breaking Down Crawford vs Benavidez

Crawford (-2500) was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year at the ESPYs in LA earlier this year, his second such award in his career. The 31-year-old has a tremendous ability to switch from orthodox to southpaw, although he is a natural orthodox fighter, keeping his opponents off balance as he peppers them with his furious hand speed and power. Bud has a perfect professional record at 33-0 with 24 wins coming by way of T/KO.

Not only does the Nebraska native have supreme offensive skills, but his defensive movements are also equally as impressive, rarely absorbing heavy shots. This is Crawford’s first title defense of this belt, having just moved into this weight class in June when he knocked out Jeff Horn to claim the title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Benavidez (+1000) has picked up back-to-back T/KO victories after having his career seemingly ended. The California native was shot in the leg in 2016 as he was climbing the ranks to a championship fight and doctors warned that he might never walk again. Not only is Benavidez fighting again but he is now taking on one of the top boxers in the world.

The 26-year-old won the 2009 Golden Gloves in the light welterweight division to make him the youngest-ever Golden Gloves champion at 16 years old. He trains with Freddy Roach, sparring with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, and he holds a perfect 27-0 record with 18 wins coming by knockout for the orthodox fighter.

Although Crawford is a three-division champion and is the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Jose Benavidez Jr. is a legitimate threat. He will have a four-inch reach advantage over the champion and possesses similar punching power. The biggest issue is if the 26-year-old can penetrate that defensive wall that the 31-year-old can put up. Benavidez was compared to the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. prior to the shooting and if he can return to form against Crawford, this could be a hell of a fight.

Prediction: Terence Crawford (-2500) via decision