Boxing betting preview: Best bets and odds for Rocha vs Santillan, Catterall vs Linares, more

Despite the disappointment following the postponement of Joshua Buatsi vs Dan Azeez this weekend, there is still plenty of action for us boxing heads to get our teeth stuck into.

Isaac Chamberlain and Mikael Lawal jump to the top of Boxxer’s Saturday night bill in London and Jack Catterall takes on a modern-day legend in Liverpool.

Across the pond, Alexis Rocha returns to the ring against Giovani Santillan in what looks like a tasty welterweight fight on paper.

The show must go on

Isaac Chamberlain and Mikael Lawal headline at York Hall on Saturday night, with Chamberlain opening up as a 1/2 favourite to win this London derby.

Chamberlain has only been handed defeats by cruiserweights at the top of the domestic tree in the United Kingdom – Okolie and Billam-Smith – so will fancy his chances as a betting favourite inside York Hall, versus a man looking for a breakout win (despite owning the 200-pound British title).

Despite three first-round KOs on his record, Chamberlain shouldn’t really be called a banger at cruiserweight. He sits on a 53% KO rate meaning his price to win on the scorecards at 6/4 with bet365 is the bet coming into the best value.

Lawal has never gone past the eighth round as a professional, so question marks over his legitimacy in the championship rounds are fair.

Lawal has shown glimpses of power and has a growing knockout reel, but at 11/2 with bet365 to win by stoppage, the bookies don’t fancy this power to get through the guard of Chamberlain.

Linares being fed to the “Cat” as a 6/1 dog

Jorge Linares is a tough sell as a headliner in 2023.

The Venezuelan has enjoyed an incredible career, but at 38 is well past his dominating best.

“El Nino del Oro” takes on Jack Catterall in Liverpool this Saturday as a 6/1 underdog with bet365, aiming to record his first victory since 2020.

Linares has suffered recent defeats to Devin Haney, Zaur Abdullaev and Zhora Hamazaryan, meaning his record has now been stretched out to a monster 47-8 across 21 years.

Jack Catterall is on the hunt for momentum, still reeling from a controversial SD loss to Josh Taylor in 2022. He is a giant 1/10 with bet365 to win the contest, with the aim to springboard him into more world title opportunities.

But Catterall will need to stop Linares if he is to make anything close to a statement inside the Echo Arena.

4/6 with bet365 says he will get this job done, but there is a decent BET BOOST on offer at bet365. 6/4 is the price for Catterall to win via stoppage in a fight that exceeds 5.5 rounds – a solid option when you are considering a fighter with such grit and pride as Linares.

Rocha a big favourite against biggest career challenge

This is a well-matched fight in the welterweight division between two fighters who are stepping up to their biggest challenges to date.

Alexis Rocha is a huge 1/6 favourite with bet365 and it’s hard to justify any value here against a live opponent in Giovanni Santillan.

Rocha hits hard but Santillan is capable of throwing bombs back in this one – this opens up the 7/4 with bet365 for this fight NOT to go the distance.

Rocha has only gone the 12-round distance once and the deepest Santillan has gone into a fight is the 10th.

Lewis Watson is a sports writer from London, UK, and a member of the BWAA. Follow or contact him on Twitter @lewiswatson_8