Boxing weekends don’t get much busier than what’s on tap for Saturday. Four separate cards are set to commence around the globe with differing levels of repute among them. The biggest of the day is set to go down in Glendale, Arizona, when social media star Jake Paul looks to continue his ascent as he takes on former UFC middleweight champion and all-time great Anderson Silva (9 p.m. ET, Showtime PPV).
The highest profile fighter will take his talents to New York City when Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to take on Jamaine Taylor. Lomachenko has not fought in over a year while fighting in his home country of Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Plus, rising prospect Joseph Diaz also gets a tough test when he faces William Zepeda in San Diego.
Every big weekend in the combat space draws plenty of attention at the sportsbooks, but a weekend — and event — like this will likely have even more people than usual looking to make a wager or two. With that in mind, we have you covered with our three best bets to consider. Odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook.
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Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz under 10.5 rounds (-105)
I predicted Lomachenko by knockout in the middle rounds in our official preview. The fight going under 10.5 actually gives you a better price than simply taking Lomachenko by KO, TKO or DQ (-135). Ortiz is a good fighter, but he just doesn’t do anything nearly as well as Lomachenko and Lomachenko has been dominant since losing to Teofimo Lopez. Richard Commey and Masayoshi Nakatani are both iron-tough fighters and Lomachenko put both down — and stopped Nakatani. Lomachenko should do whatever he wants in this one and do so while trying to make a statement and secure a shot at Devin Haney and the undisputed lightweight championship. Take the under, and if you feel like throwing a dart at some longer odds to spice things up, Lomachenko in Rounds 4 to 6 is +500 and Rounds 7 to 9 is +325.
Anderson Silva via decision (+800) vs. Jake Paul
This is something of a play based on principle more than anything else. While I think Paul is going to win this fight, likely by knockout, the +800 line is implying odds at 11.11%. Silva by knockout is sitting at +300. Those two lines should be flipped as Silva stopping Paul is far less likely than using his frustrating, unorthodox style to bank enough rounds to get his hand raised by decision. Sometimes you have to take the value play even if it goes against your expectation for a fight.
Joseph Diaz (+145) vs. William Zepeda
Zepeda has the hype of a 26-0 record and big, flashy power. Diaz is also fighting one weight class higher than where he was his best and that means facing a six-inch reach disadvantage, as well. So, it’s easy to see why Zepeda is the slight favorite heading into the fight. However, Zepeda didn’t look quite as dynamic against Rene Alvarado in his most recent outing and his power didn’t do much against a higher-level of opponent. Diaz is notoriously durable and is very good at working his way to the inside, which will negate Zepeda’s reach advantage. Zepeda showed an inability to manage distance against Alvarado and that could be his downfall against someone as good at infighting as Diaz.
Who wins Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva? And which prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Peter Kahn’s best bets for Saturday, all from the boxing specialist who has netted his followers a profit of nearly $4,000, and find out.
