We faded down the stretch in 2021 and ended the year with a -1.88% ROI. Luckily we had a red hot 2020, so we’re still ahead. We’re recharged and ready to start losing our bankroll in spectacular fashion. Here is our our portfolio currently looks:
Boxing Betting Annualized Rate of Return (since 9/17/20): 22.95%
Mutual Funds Annualized Rate of Return (since 9/17/20): 14.42%
Boxing Betting Return On Investment (ROI): 7.27%
This week we’re betting the main event on Friday’s ShoBox card, Jamaine Ortiz vs Nahir Albright. This is an intriguing matchup, Boxrec separates these fighters by 3 spots in the rankings. Ortiz is coming off a draw in a terrific fight against Jeremy Adorno in which he was dropped twice. He’s got pretty good hand speed and he’ll let his hands go and look to land. Albright is coming off a big victory over Michael Dutchover where he was landing the right hand at will and completely dominated. He’s comfortable sitting on the outside and looking to counter. We think he’s got enough power to hurt Ortiz and he’ll likely get the opportunity to land something big. We’re less sure about Albright’s ability to take a shot. We thought this fight would have a tighter line that it does and we were anticipating taking Ortiz, but since we can get a decent return on Albright we’re going with a one unit bet on him. We expect this to be a good one to watch.
$13 on Nahir Albright at +173
We’ll also be betting the Saturday morning main event of RCC‘s show on ESPN+ from Russia, Zaur Abdullaev vs Jorge Linares. This is another solid matchup. We have Linares ranked slightly higher, as does Boxrec. But the betting line is a near tossup, probably reflecting the home advantage Abdullaev will enjoy in this one. People often say comparing boxers based on how they did against common opponents doesn’t tell you anything. We generally agree. But it’s fun, so we do it anyway. Both fighters lost to Devin Haney and there’s no shame there. But Abdullaev was really taken apart, though he was clearly thrown in before he was ready. Linares has always had a high level offensive game, good combination punching from range. But he has been chinny and even though he’s had a solid career, many thought him capable of much more a decade ago. Still, he’s a tough matchup for anyone at 135 and below even in his advanced age. Abdullaev has had some dicey moments against lesser fighters than Linares, but he’s gritty. He’ll be coming forward here looking to get in close and rake the body. He’s definitely got enough pop to shake Linares and he’s capable of grinding him down. But we think Linares will catch him with something and get him in trouble. We expect it to boil down to whether or not Linares can finish him. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to win convincingly to get out of Russia with a win. But we think he will.
$40 on Jorge Linares at -122
Finally, we’re also betting Saturday’s main event from Manchester – a fight we’ve been waiting nearly a decade for, Amir Khan vs Kell Brook. We’ve always thought Brook would win this fight, but we really have no idea now. Can he make 149? Will he even try? Will it matter? Does Khan have anything left? It’s been 7 years since he’s been in a fight we weren’t certain we knew the result of. He won the fights he was supposed to win and lost the fights he was supposed to lose. He’ll be quicker than Brook and probably less battle damaged. But he’s also probably rustier. Does BoMac bring anything to this fight? Doubtful, but if Khan experienced the full camp that Crawford goes through he will have put himself in position to give his best effort. We have to bet this fight, it’s been so long in the making. And we’re genuinely excited to see how it plays out in a great fight atmosphere. We’re sticking with our original hunch.
$40 on Kell Brook at -169