Opening the PPV portion of this weekend Alvarez vs. Ryder event in Mexico will be the hometown kid Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela taking on the Aussie Steve Spark in a super-lightweight showdown. These two are very talented upcoming prospects in the 140 lb division and will be looking for a big win to boost themselves into an even bigger fight for their upcoming boxing matches.
Read along for the official Valenzuela vs Spark prediction, and keep coming back to Insiders Betting Digest for more information on boxing betting and any big fights coming up on the boxing schedule.
Valenzuela vs. Spark Information
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs Steve Spark
Location of the fight: Estadio Akron, Zapopan, MX.
Date and Time: May 6. 8 PM ET est. Ring Walk.
How to Watch: DAZN PPV
Last Fight Record
Valenzuela is coming off a TKO victory over the 22-2 Yves Ulysse Jr. in February 2023.
Spark won via DQ against Montana Love, after Love threw him over the top rope in the 6th round.
Valenzuela vs. Spark Betting Analysis
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela
Valenzuela is a 26-3-1 Mexican fighter with an orthodox stance, standing at a big 5’10” and 73” reach–making him one of the bigger guys in the super-lightweight division. He also has a 62% KO rate with 16 of his wins coming via TKO/KO. He also has a big experience advantage over Spark, tallying almost 100 more professional rounds than his opponent so far.
With the lack of analytics in boxing at this level, we have to break down the technical side as well. With the size that Valenzuela has, he has been quite a weight-class bully so far in his young career and no one he has beaten have been able to absorb the power that Valenzuela brings.
Steve Spark
It’s tough not to be a fan of Steve Spark. The Australian has made a career out of traveling across the globe to fight these guys in their hometowns, as the underdog. This is just another night at the office for Spark, the 16-2 (14 KOs) Aussie. He will be traveling into enemy territory yet again.
Spark has similar measurables with his opponent, standing at 5’10” and a 70” reach. Just off of the eye-test, Spark does seem like the stronger man. He really cuts down to make that super-lightweight limit and looks huge on fight night. Spark is also ranked in the top 12 of the WBA, WBC, and IBF super-lightweight division.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to the Mexican Athletic Commission.
Valenzuela vs. Spark Betting Preview
There isn’t anything better than a closely matched bout between two talented prospects in boxing. We don’t get these much nowadays as fans.
Moneyline: According to boxing odds, Valenzuela is the slight betting favorite at -175. Spark is on familiar ground as the +125 betting underdog. The underdog odds have not stopped either of these two from big wins in their young careers.
Over/Under Total: The over/under is set at 8.5 rounds for this one, which is very interesting considering that neither man is used to going that far into a fight.
Prop Bets: There’s a prop bet available for Valenzuela to win by TKO/KO is +175, and Spark at +200.
Boxing betting odds that are this close make boxing predictions much more difficult than you’re probably used to. The positive part about a closely matched fight is that both sides are valuable picks. There’s not many instances in boxing nowadays where you can get a betting favorite at -175.
Make sure you spend time going through your local sportsbook and looking at all the lines before making your Valenzuela vs Spark prediction this weekend.
Valenzuela vs. Spark Betting Prediction
After previewing this fight in the sportsbook, and on tape, this has proven to be the toughest pick to make for this weekend’s boxing betting slate.
Valenzuela will have a lot of advantages. We know what boxing promotions do for their own and how there can be some shady activities going on around a big event like this one. It is going to be tough for Spark to win on the scorecards in Mexico, whether you want to admit it or not.
- Even after saying that, the official Valenzuela vs Spark prediction is that Spark gets his hand raised in front of a very upset Mexican crowd.
Spark’s attitude and fight style is something that Valenzuela will have issues with. Valenzuela won’t be able to weight-bully Spark, and Spark will not be taking backwards steps.
Valenzuela also throws much longer, looping punches with his hands down–Spark is going to find a home for his right hand.
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