Boxing Tips: 11/1 punt tops our Anthony Joshua big fight preview
Daniel Dubois v Jarrell Miller – Dubois to Win in Round 5 – 6 Deontay Wilder v Joseph Parker – Parker Points or Decision Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin – Joshua to Win in Round 7 – 12
The Saudi’s aren’t giving us one mega bout this weekend, but we are getting a blockbuster event – Anthony Joshua faces Otto Wallin, Deontay Wilder takes on Joseph Parker, Daniel Dubois meets Jarrell Miller, there are five other massive fights, and don’t forget we’ve had the best boxing promo video ever – and here are the three best betting tips on the action.
Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia TV: DAZN
NEW TO PADDY POWER? PLACE A £5 BET ON SPORTS GET £20 IN FREE BETS! Daniel Dubois v Jarrell Miller – Dubois to Win in Round 5 – 67pm
It’s hard not to be biased in this one – Daniel Dubois is the innocent, nice guy, while Jarrell Miller is the brash American with a history of doping. ‘Big Baby’ has been trying to wind up everyone in Saudi, but where AJ has bitten on his taunts, ‘Triple D’ has just found them funny. This could be the best fight of the night, and I’m praying that the nice guy lands the telling blows.
The young British man, 26, is fast and aggressive, and has 18 stoppages in 19 wins, however he has lost twice as well – Joe Joyce knocked out Dubois in round 10 in 2020, and Oleksandr Usyk broke him in the 9th stanza in August – there are concerns about Daniel’s endurance and heart, but until those stoppages he was competitive with world class opponents.
Miller, 35, is a huge unit who will probably weigh around 330 pounds (23-24 stone or 150kg) on fight night. His best wins are against mediocre foes Johann Duhaupas and Bogdan Dinu, but that was before he spent three-and-a-half years on the sidelines because of a doping offence – his second violation as a pro athlete.
The American has three wins since he’s returned, but no significant names or impressive performances. He will pressurise, but his workrate falls after a few rounds and he starts to drop his hands. Dubois is an agile heavyweight, and can pick holes in Miller to the head and body.
All of ‘DDD’s’ KOs have been in round 5 or earlier, and even his debated knockdown of Usyk was in round 5. I think Dubois will take over the fight around the fifth and he’ll either get a KO or cruise to a points win – but I’m backing the big price on a KO in round 5 or 6.
9pm
Deontay Wilder, like Joshua, is on the comeback trail after two losses to Tyson Fury. But with Wilder, it’s been a slow journey – the Alabama banger has only had one fight in the last two years, and that was a one-round demolition job of Helenius. This weekend he faces Joseph Parker, a former world champion who has fought three times in 2023.
We all know about Deontay’s crazy power and his 42 KOs in 43 wins, but now he’s 38, he’s been inactive, he’s been off recording rap songs, and there’s a question mark over whether his heart is still in it.
It seems like Parker, 31, has been around forever – he lost his world title to Anthony Joshua in 2018, he lost to Dillian Whyte later that year, and had a couple of hard fought wins over Derek Chisora in 2021. Last year, Parker was stopped late by Joe Joyce in a hellacious battle, but he’s won three times since then.
Parker got his tactics wrong against Joyce, but the same tactics could work against Wilder. The American wants to be on the front foot and have space for his wingspan, so if Joe can close the distance and make it ugly he has the skills and the engine to land more shots and get the decision on the cards.
Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin – Joshua to Win in Round 7 – 1210pm
AJ is still on the comeback trail after his pair of losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022. The 2012 Olympic champion looked like he was caught between styles in his two bouts earlier this year, and now he faces Wallin, the man who got his name by giving Tyson Fury all sorts of problems.
The thing about Wallin that has people picking him to score an upset win is that he’s a southpaw. Joshua seemed to struggle with Usyk’s lefty stance, and it has been reported that AJ’s former coach said “no more southpaws”, so now the Englishman is hooking up with Fury’s former mentor Ben Davison.
Otto, 33, could be competitive in Riyadh on Saturday but I have a hard time seeing how he wins. He typically stays light on his fight, moves a lot and doesn’t hit hard, he only has one KO in the last six years. These two actually faced each other twice as amateurs, with Joshua winning on both occasions.
Some people might argue that AJ, 34, was patient and pacing himself against Robert Helenius in August, but he looked hesitant to me. Wallin is like a younger, more mobile version of Helenius, so expect a similar fight and don’t expect a war.
Joshua struggled with Usyk because he’s an incredible fighter, not so much because he’s a southpaw, and Wallin isn’t in that class. The fight going the distance wouldn’t surprise me, but if AJ gains confidence he can time and counter the Swede’s pity-patty jabs like he did when he nailed Helenius in round 7.
Boxing Betting TipsDaniel Dubois v Jarrell Miller – Dubois to Win in Round 5 – 6 Deontay Wilder v Joseph Parker – Parker Points or Decision Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin – Joshua to Win in Round 7 – 12
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Read More Paddy Power News has your knockout boxing betting tips Boxing Tips: Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin Predictions from The Hook Podcast Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin: Fight date, ring-walk time, undercard, odds and tips Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk: Fight date, ring-walk time, undercard, odds and tips Jake Paul’s Next Fight: Opponent, Date, Start Time & Betting Odds The latest boxing odds are on PaddyPower.com right now THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO SAFER GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
