Boxing betting tips: Joe Joyce v Christian Hammer and Jason Cunningham Zolani Tete
Joe Joyce should have few troubles when he returns to the ring on Saturday night, as our boxing expert Chris Oliver previews the BT Sport card.
Boxing betting tips: Joyce v Hammer
1pt Joe Joyce to win in rounds 7-12 6/4 (Sky Bet)
1pt Jason Cunningham to win by decision 6/4 (bet365)
Christian Hammer wasn't the opponent Joe Joyce was hoping for as he returns from a year out of the ring at the Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
Ranked number one with the WBO and number two with the WBC, Joyce was desperate for a big name and looked to have got one when a fight with former champion Joseph Parker was announced in the ring at Wembley Stadium in April. However, that fell out of bed and enhanced Joyce's reputation as the most avoided heavyweight around right now. Hammer was about as good as an opponent as promoter Frank Warren could have at short notice, but it still left the fans a little underwhelmed ahead of this BT Sport-televised show and the 16/1 about the visitor springing an upset here reflects that.
A Romanian now based in Germany, Hammer has mixed in top company in his 10-year career and boasts some good wins on his CV, most notably Erkan Teper (then undefeated) and Britain's David Price in 2016 and 2017, respectively. However, there are nine losses on his 36-fight ledger, and he has always come up short when tackling the top names in the division.
He has lost four out of his last seven and appeared to be looking for a way out when citing a bicep injury as he retired after five rounds against Hughie Fury on his last visit to the UK 10 months ago. He arrives on the back of a first-round stoppage over a journeyman in May, but quite how motivated the 34-year-old is these days is up for debate and Joyce will know he needs to make a statement to emerge with any credit at all.
Very unlucky not to win gold instead of silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Joyce has made rapid progress in 13 professional outings and his sixth-round stoppage of Carlos Takam when last seen in July 2021 added to his good wins over Daniel Dubois, Bryant Jennings, Alexander Ustinov and former champion Bermane Stiverne. His biggest opponent so far has been injury, which has led to inactivity, and he will be looking to get on with things this weekend to make up for lost time.
Hammer knows how to look after himself and while four of his losses have come inside the distance, two of those have been down to injury and one came against division king Tyson Fury (retired 8th). However, Joyce's marauding style is a nightmare for anyone, especially for an opponent potentially lacking desire in his advancing years like Hammer.
A top price on 1/33, Joyce will be coming forward from the first bell and that relentless pressure can really take its toll as the fight goes on. I expect Joyce to become the fifth man to stop Hammer (1/5), but it may be a case of grinding him down rather than switching his lights out and that makes a victory for the home favourite in the second half of the fight the fancy at 6/4.
A Cunning plan!
The best fight on the card is Jason Cunningham's Commonwealth super bantamweight title defence against dangerous veteran Zolani Tete.
Cunningham is enjoying a real Indian summer and has been given a good chance to put himself in line for a world title shot against the big-punching South African.
Cunningham has been around the block and paid his dues, so few would begrudge him finally getting his rewards from the sport thanks to a brilliant run of form in recent years. Since his sixth career loss to Michael Conlan in late 2018, the Doncaster native has rattled off seven consecutive wins and has shown his surprise victory over Gamal Yafai (UD) to be no fluke with big victories over unbeaten prospects Brad Foster (UD) and Terry Le Couviour (KO6).
The 32-year-old is in the form of his life and will be a very popular winner if he can extend that winning run, but Tete is a former two-weight world champion and poses a formidable test.
Tete first came to the attention of British fans when travelling to Liverpool and knocking out local hope Paul Butler to claim the IBF super flyweight strap in 2015, since which he has shared the ring with some of the best small men in the world. Another eight wins followed that victory, and he picked a belt at bantamweight along the way, before he ran into John Riel Casimero in November 2019 and was flattened in three rounds.
The bookies are struggling to split these two southpaws and it's 10/11 the pair in places, with this likely to come down to what Tete has left at the age of 34. He has the best form in the book and is unlikely to have lost any of that famous power in his left-hand, but he has had just 55 seconds of action in the 32 months since that second defeat of his career to Casimero. Ring rust after such inactivity as his age has to be a big concern, likewise the fact that this is the first time he has fought up in the 122lb division.
Cunningham has fought as high as lightweight (135lb), so is the naturally bigger man and he is also the one with all the momentum in this fight. That could count for a lot and although Tete has the power to change the course of the fight at any moment, I believe Cunningham can box his way to a decision win at 6/4. He may have to survive a scare or two along the way, but the Yorkshireman's smart footwork and accurate counterpunching can see him get the nod from the judges after an entertaining 12 rounds.
Posted at 0925 BST on 01/07/22
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