Wilder vs Ortiz 2 odds: Deontay Wilder expected to retain title in rematch

It’s a busy Saturday in boxing with noteworthy cards happening in Las Vegas, Liverpool, and Indio, California, and we’ve got some big favorites in the biggest fights, but some sneakier, better matchups on some of the undercards.

Las Vegas, NV (FOX PPV)

The headline fight of the day will end it all late tonight from the MGM Grand, as Deontay Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KO) defends his WBC heavyweight title in a rematch with Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26 KO). Wilder stopped Ortiz in 10 when they met in Mar. 2018, and he’s expected to leave Sin City with his belt once again.

Wilder is favored with lines between -500 and -833, which are solid, even fairly wide odds making him a clear favorite, but it’s not totally outlandish, as Ortiz can punch and is plenty dangerous. Ortiz is listed between +340 and +500 to pull the upset.

A much more absurd world title fight will take place in the co-feature, as Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KO) moves up to 130 to try and claim a vacant belt, which would/will make him a four-division champ. Santa Cruz is listed between -4000 and -10000, as nobody is really giving also-ran Miguel Flores (24-2, 12 KO) a chance to win this one. Flores is between +1000 and +2875.

Brandon Figueroa (20-0, 15 KO) is stepping in against Julio Ceja (32-4, 28 KO) in what was meant to be a fight for Figueroa’s WBA “world” super bantamweight title, but with Ceja badly blowing weight on Friday, the title is now on the line only for Figueroa. The young “Heartbreaker” is favored to win with lines between -384 and -610, with Ceja between +250 and +437.

Liverpool, England (DAZN)

Photo by Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images

Top super middleweight Callum Smith (26-0, 19 KO) is returning at home to defend his WBA title against mandatory challenger John Ryder (28-4, 16 KO), and while Ryder has been on a fine run leading up to this bout, we’re still talking about the man seen as No. 1 in the world against a guy who scrapes into the back end of the top 10 for most.

Smith is listed between -1667 and -3333, with Ryder at +725 to +1605.

The meaningful undercard bouts on the Matchroom show are mostly seen as more competitively-matched:

• Chris Billam-Smith (-175 to -250) vs Craig Glover (+143 to +162)
• Anthony Fowler (-855 to -2000) vs Harry Scarff (+600 to +750)
• Tom Farrell (-162 to -225) vs Sean Dodd (+140 to +150)
• James Tennyson (-351 to -625) vs Craig Evans (+260 to +333)

Indio, CA (DAZN)

Golden Boy has a DAZN-streamed card tonight, too, which is a solid show but flying way under the radar as it’ll be going head-to-head with the Wilder-Ortiz card. Two WBA “world” titles will be on the line at 130 and 126.

In the main event, Andrew Cancio (21-4-2, 16 KO) looks to keep his great form going with a super featherweight title defense rematch against Rene Alvarado (31-8, 20 KO), his mandatory challenger. Cancio stopped Alvarado when they met four years ago, and he’s only performed better since then.

Cancio is expected to repeat, listed between -714 and -1000, really strong lines favoring a guy who just nine months ago was largely dismissed when he challenged Alberto Machado for this belt. Alvarado is between +400 and +645.

The co-feature will see Xu Can (17-2, 3 KO) defend his featherweight strap against prospected Manny Robles III (18-0, 8 KO). Xu is fighting well these days, and Robles has struggled to get through both of his last two bouts, and the lines reflect that.

The Chinese titleholder is listed between -253 and -400, with a Robles upset priced between +196 and +240.