It’s been an exciting time for British boxing over the last few months. Anthony Joshua retained his World Heavyweight titles with a fine win over Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium and then a few weeks later, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder battled to an exciting draw in Las Vegas in what was one of the most explosive fights of the year.
However, it’s not just been the heavyweights who have been in action, Callum Smith won the World Boxing Super Series Super-Middleweight tournament, defeating George Groves in the final and winning the WBA Super middleweight belt in the process. He is now on schedule for a massive match up next year against either Gennady Golovkin or Saul Alvarez according to reports.
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One of Smith’s former opponents, Rocky Fielding came up short against Alvarez this past weekend when the Mexican stopped the Liverpudlian boxer in the third round at Madison Square Garden.
This coming weekend though sees two huge fights at both 
domestic and international level in the UK. There’s sure to be plenty of interest in the betting on both of these cracking bouts, so remember, if you have not done so already, you can sign up right now with bet365 Sport and claim the latest bet365 Sport New Player Bonus, which offers you up to £100 in bet credits once you have deposited and started betting on the site.
Let’s now preview the first of the two big fights of the weekend which is taking place at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night between two of the best featherweight fighters in the world, current IBF World Featherweight title holder Josh Warrington and former champion, Irishman Carl Frampton.
Warrington v Frampton
Tale of the Tape
| Name | Tale of the Tape | Name |
| Josh Warrington | Carl Frampton | |
| 27 | Wins | 26 |
| 0 | Lost | 1 |
| 6 | Kos | 15 |
| 0 | Draws | 0 |
| 27 | Total Bouts | 27 |
| 22% | KO% | 56% |
| 5’7” | Height | 5’5” |
| 64” | Reach | 62” |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| English | Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Leeds | Place of Birth | Belfast |
| 14th Nov 1990 | Date of Birth | 21st Feb 1987 |
Josh Warrington in Focus
The 28 year old Warrington has yet to be beaten in his professional career and claimed the IBF Featherweight title with a split decision victory over former Champion Welshman Lee Selby at Elland Roads back in May. That performance by Warrington was one of the fights of the year, with the unfancied Englishman putting Selby on the back foot and making the favourite to win the fight look somewhat ponderous and ordinary, due chiefly to his astonishing workrate in the ring.
It’s fair to say that Warrington hasn’t been in with as many top stars as Frampton as yet, and that means the bookies have him as the clear 7/4 second favourite to land the win here, however in front of what is likely to be a partisan home crowd in Manchester, that won’t faze Warrington who was a similar price when he took on Selby earlier in the year.
Biggest Strength – Workrate
Weakness – Punching power with only 22% of his fights ending as a KO.
Carl Frampton in Focus
Frampton began his career as a bantamweight and landed the world title back in September 2014, when he defeated Kiko Martinez of Spain in front of his home crowd in Belfast. That was his 19th successive win in his career and Frampton then retained his crown beating Chris Avalos and Alejandro Gonzalez before beating Scott Quigg in Manchester to claim the WBA version of the belt.
With little else to prove at that weight, Frampton then moved up to featherweight where he claimed the WBA Super Featherweight title with a win over Leo Santa Cruz via a majority decision, the two met a few months later with the same result, but the decision reverse, handing Frampton the first loss of his career. Wins over Horacio Garcia, Nonito Donaire and Luke Jackson fillowed setting up Frampton for a shot at the IBF Featherweight title this weekend.
Biggest Strength – Punching Power
Weakness – Size at Featherweight
Warrington v Frampton Tips
- To Win – Frampton – 4/9
- Round Betting – Frampton to win by Decision or Technical Decision – 11/10
- Fight Outcome – Frampton on points – 11/10
The second big fight of the night is scheduled to get underway a little time later and it features two of the biggest names in the burgeoning UK Heavyweight scene, with two fighters hoping for a shot at one of the World titles in 2019. Dereck Chisora and Dillian Whyte, who are meeting for the second time in their careers.
Whyte v Chisora
Tale of the Tape
| Name | Tale of the Tape | Name |
| Dillian Whyte | Dereck Chisora | |
| 24 | Wins | 29 |
| 1 | Lost | 8 |
| 18 | Kos | 21 |
| 0 | Draws | 0 |
| 25 | Total Bouts | 37 |
| 71% | KO% | 57% |
| 6’4” | Height | 6’1” |
| 78” | Reach | 74” |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| British | Nationality | British |
| Port Antonio, Jamaica | Place of Birth | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| 11 Apr 1988 | Date of Birth | 29 Dec 1983 |
Dillian Whyte in Focus
Dillian Whyte has not taken the easy path to the top, with several 
problematical issues for him to deal with throughout his career. The fiery Jamaican-born ace is now based in London and came to prominence when defeating Anthony Joshua in the amateur ranks. After a brief career in MMA, Whyte turned professional in 2011 and earned 16 wins in a row before a grudge fight with Anthony Joshua in 2015.
Joshua knocked Whyte out in the 7th Round, but Whyte was the first fighter to give Joshua problems and he further enhanced his reputation with three solid wins before in his 21st fight, he fought another Brit in Dereck Chisora. The animosity between the two prior to the fight was palpable and led to some unsavoury scenes at the press conference, but in the ring the fight was sensational with both fighters going all out for the win, which Whyte just earned courtesy of a very close call split decision.
Since then Whyte has beaten Robert Helenius, Lucas Browne and most recently Joseph Parker to climb the rankings and he has his eyes focused on a World Title shot next year, once he has defeated Chisora at the 02 Arena this weekend.
Biggest Strength – Durability
Weakness – Carelessness and over-confidence
Dereck Chisora in Focus
Few boxers have as unusual a career as the 34 year old Chisora. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, he moved to the UK in 1999, living in London and the big punching heavyweight turned professional in 2007. He won his first 14 bouts, before losing to Tyson Fury by unanimous decision in his 15th fight. A short time later, Chisora would face Finn Robert Helenius, challenge Vitali Klitschko bravely for the World title and then take on David Haye, losing all three bouts to seemingly send his career into a spiral.
After five wins on the bounce, Chisora once again found himself up against Tyson Fury, only for Fury to once again et the better of him. Five wins followed again before he lost to Kubrat Pulev for the European title and then in his 33rd fight he took on Dillian Whyte in an explosive match which he lost narrowly by split decision. Since then Chisora has lost once and won three fights, most significantly his last win over Carlos Takam,
Biggest Strength – Punching Power
Weakness – Conditioning
Whyte v Chisora Tips
- To Win – Whyte – 3/10
- Round Betting – Whyte to win in Round 3 – 28/1
- Fight Outcome – Whyte by Knock Out – 13/8
For me, this fight sees two fighters on different Career paths. For Dillian Whyte, this is about establishing himself as a genuine contender alongside Fury, Wilder and Joshua for the world titles. For Chisora, it is a chance for a final pay day against a fighter who he did superbly against a few years back.
For me though Chisora has not improved at all since then, where I feel Whyte has really improved and my gut feeling is, that this time around Chisora could be in for a torrid and short night’s work as I am backing Whyte to win and win big in the early rounds of the fight.
