Arguably the most interesting of the upcoming boxing fights this weekend to start the new year is this 140-lb interim WBA title fight between Ohara Davies and Ismael Barroso in Las Vegas. After Rolando Romero decided to be sidelined due to an injury, the interim title is now up for grabs between the two top contenders in the WBA.
Davies vs. Barroso Picks
- Pick: Barroso ML.
Continue reading for a closer look at this matchup, along with discussing the Davies vs. Barroso best bets to make this weekend while learning how to bet on boxing.
Davies vs. Barroso Information
Ohara Davies vs Ismael Barroso
Location of the fight: The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Date & Time: January 6, 2024, 10 PM ET estimated ring walk
How to Watch: DAZN
Last Fight Results:
Davies is coming off a KO victory over Lewis Ritson last March.
Barroso is making his return for the first time since losing an unfair and corrupt bout to Rolando Romero via TKO back in March of 2023.
Davies vs. Barroso Betting Analysis
Ohara Davies
Davies is a British boxer with a professional record of 25-2, including 18 wins by KO under his belt so far at 31 years old. He held the WBC Silver light-welterweight title from 2016 to 2017. Before turning pro, Davies reportedly had an 18-0 amateur record. As a professional, Davies is a 5’7” orthodox boxer with a 71” reach and will be challenging for his first world title in his United States debut this weekend.
Ismael Barroso
Barroso is a 40–year-old Venezuelan boxer with a professional record of 24-4, including 22 wins by KO. He made his professional boxing debut back in August 2005 and has since captured the WBA interim lightweight title and challenged for the WBA lightweight and the WBA super-lightweight titles. He is a tough, powerful 5’8 ½” southpaw with a 69” reach and an exciting style for fans to enjoy.
Updates
There are no injuries reported to the WBA or Golden Boy Promotions.
Davies vs. Barroso Betting Preview
Before getting to the Davies vs. Barroso best bets, we have to scan through boxing news, preview betting lines, and break down the film on both fighters to better understand how this fight might play out on Saturday.
The available boxing odds have Davies as the -500 betting favorite over Barroso at +350. This is a very interesting line because Barroso is somehow not as big of an underdog as he was against Romero, who isn’t as good of a boxer as Davies.
After watching the tape on both of these guys, this seems to be an interesting matchup. Davies is the younger and more athletic boxer, but Barroso is coming off a performance that proved to himself that he can fight at this level against opponents like Romero and Davies.
Davies has shown an interesting game plan against southpaws in the past; like his fight against Josh Taylor back in 2017 when he sported a very timid Philly shell guard and ultimately got steamrolled out of the ring.
Barroso fights with a lot of pressure and constant power shots thrown to the body and head of his opponents. This tends to break down fighters in the ring and has led to 22 knockouts out of 24 total wins for the Venezuelan.
The southpaw against orthodox dynamic here will leave a backhand straight down the middle open for either man. That opening suits Barroso better because he has the real power in his left hand. Even if Barroso has lost a step in speed and reaction time, the power is the last thing to go for older fighters.
Davies vs. Barroso Betting Prediction
Making boxing picks can prove to be difficult because there’s so much funny business that goes on in a lot of promotions, especially Golden Boy Promotions. Don’t take that as saying it’s a bad promotion and the fights are rigged, but you never can trust the judges or even refs.
With that in mind, this fight seems like a massive opportunity for Barroso to prove he deserves a rematch with Romero. Quite frankly, that rematch is the biggest fight that Golden Boy can put on for Romero in 2024 as well.
The Davies vs. Barroso best bets to make this weekend are the Barroso money line and Barroso by decision. He will win by output and landing more power shots.
- Pick: Barroso ML.
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