In probably the biggest upcoming boxing fights this weekend, two long-time training partners and fellow UK champions will face off for the WBO cruiserweight world title. Lawrence Okolie will look to defend his belt against former teammate Chris Billam Smith in an exciting match scheduled at Vitality Stadium.
Read along for the Okolie vs Smith betting analysis and prediction ahead of making your boxing picks this weekend.
Okolie vs. Smith Information
Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam Smith
Location of the fight: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, United Kingdom.
Date and Time: May 27, 2023. 5 PM ET estimated ring walk.
How to Watch: Sky Sports
Last Fight Record
Okolie is fresh off a sub-par performance two months ago against David Light. He still retained his WBO belt that night, though.
Smith is riding the momentum of his KO-of-the-year candidate performance against Armend Xhoxhaj last December.
Okolie vs. Smith Betting Analysis
Lawrence Okolie
Okolie is arguably the best champion the cruiserweight division has right now. Standing at 6’5” with an 82.5” reach, he is a major issue to deal with for everybody in the division. His professional record is unblemished, at 19-0 with 14 KO victories.
The WBO champion is looking to bounce back from two lackluster performances, amid a lot of drama with promotions that has even gone to court. Some might say that this fight this weekend is the biggest in his career, due to his current standing with Sky Sports. Expect him to give everything he has for a spectacular finish on Saturday night.
Chris Billam Smith
Billam Smith is a super cool story coming out of UK boxing the last couple of years. He has improved a ton recently, keeping his head down and winning fights. He officially has nowhere to go besides challenging for a world title. Smith is 17-1 in his professional career, with 12 KOs under his belt.
The 32-year-old orthodox boxer is facing his toughest test, but he has the experience of over 300 sparring rounds with Okolie, according to himself. He also has the coaches in his corner that know everything there is to know about Okolie and how to win a fight against him.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to WBO or Sky Sports Boxing.
Okolie vs. Smith Betting Preview
According to the boxing odds, Okolie is a big betting favorite with a moneyline at -370 over his former teammate. Smith is the +260 underdog going into his first world title fight.
This is a very good line and seems spot on in correctness when you look at the physical advantages that Okolie has over Smith. The advantages that Smith has only lay in his confidence, and inside information–which actually goes both ways.
Okolie has moved onto a legendary coach in Sugar Hill Steward that will surely keep his power-punching improving every fight camp. The Okolie vs Smith betting preview can’t be done without discussing the outside factors in this matchup.
We talked about these two being former long-time sparring partners, but don’t forget how much pressure is on Okolie in this one. It feels like UK boxing has had a ton of upsets recently, so don’t count Smith out of this one too early.
Okolie vs. Smith Betting Prediction
The outcome of this fight seems to be written on the wall, but it is a lot closer than the odds would tell you.
- For an official Okolie vs Smith betting prediction, we are going in favor of Okolie to get the job done on Saturday night.
The size advantage and the sting behind his punches are a little too much to overlook as a sports bettor.
This fight probably starts off strong in Smith’s favor. He will have a lot of confidence and will try to to get up on the scorecards, while also accumulating damage on Okolie. He knows what he needs to do; touch Okolie early and often.
Okolie hasn’t been hit too many times in his career due to his awkward style and length, but Smith has to have some tricks up his sleeve to use his impressive inside fighting skills against the larger fighter.
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