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Boxing betting tips: Tyler Denny vs Felix Cash & Lewis Crocker vs Conah Walker
Boxing expert Chris Oliver is spying an upset when Tyler Denny defends his European middleweight against Felix Cash on Saturday night.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday June 22
1pt Tyler Denny to win by decision at 3/1 (Spreadex, Sporting Index)
2pts Lewis Crocker to win by decision at 6/4 (Sky Bet)
Felix Cash makes his long-awaiting return to the ring against TYLER DENNY in Birmingham on Saturday, live on DAZN.
In a fascinating battle of ability versus application, the highly-touted Cash has yet to fulfil his undoubted potential, whereas Denny has squeezed every bit of juice out of his talents so far and he defends his European middleweight title here.
Cash is unbeaten in 16 contests (10 KOs) and would be much shorter than his current best price of 8/15 if this had taken place three years ago. Following good wins over domestic rivals Jack Cullen (TKO8) and Jason Welborn (TKO5), Cash stopped the previously unbeaten Denzel Bentley in three rounds and big things looked to be coming his way following that ultra-impressive demolition job in April 2021.
However, tragedy struck later that year as four of his cousins were killed in a car accident and his life spiralled out of control. His mental health problems led him to heavy drinking and those troubles followed him into the ring, as he laboured to lacklustre points wins over Magomed Madiev and Celso Neves in 2022. The 31-year-old from Wokingham insists he has turned his life around now, but it’s 18 months since his latest outing and he has plenty to prove.
A turbulent period for Cash has coincided with a fantastic run of victories for Denny (18-2-3), who has gone from strength to strength since claiming the English title with a split decision victory over River Wilson-Bent almost two years ago to the day. He won and defended the British title with upset victories over the previously unbeaten duo Bradley Rea and Brad Pauls via unanimous decisions, before outpointing an in-form Macaulay McGowan.
Then, when Cash pulled out of his scheduled European title bout against Matteo Signani, Denny took his place and stopped the Italian when he was last seen in November. The 32-year-old from the West Midlands continues to upset the odds and he won’t be fazed in the slightest by being a 2/1 underdog this weekend.
Cash’s natural aggression and heavy hands made him a real problem at his peak, but his power didn’t seem to be there in his last two fights and his defensive frailties remained. He was dropped twice by Madiev and was caught plenty by the unknown Neves, so he’ll be in trouble if turning up in similar form here. That’s unlikely, and a much sharper version of Cash is expected in his first fight since teaming up with top coach Adam Booth, but whether he can turn back the clock fully remains to be seen.
If the favourite isn’t at his very best, then he could be in for a long night versus Denny, who sets a strong pace from the first bell to the last. Constantly twitching and feinting, the champion utilises his quick feet and upper body movement to attack from all sorts of angles. The underdog lets plenty of shots go and he is a real handful when in full flow.
That said, he can be a little vulnerable to the body and he has been stopped once before, albeit due to a cut nearly six years ago.
Cash is the more talented of the two and if the link-up with Booth sparks a return to his best, then he should justify favouritism. That is far from certain, though, and his long layoffs and poor lifestyle over the last three years may well have left a mark that can’t be erased.
Denny seems to be improving with every fight and he has plenty in his favour here. Not only is he the local fighter with the backing of the home crowd, but he is also a southpaw and Cash hasn’t faced a ‘leftie’ since his professional debut in 2016.
With questions marks over which version of Cash we’re going to get after his inactivity, the value appears to lie with the active and in-form champion. Denny is noted more for his work-rate than his power and will likely to have do it via the scorecards if he’s to prevail, an outcome which could be overpriced at a tasty 3/1.
Crocker holds the aces
LEWIS CROCKER and Conah Walker have traded plenty of insults in the build-up and their 10-round welterweight clash could well steal the show.
Crocker brings a perfect 19-fight record (11 early) to the table after building on his points success over Belfast rival Tyrone McKenna with an impressive fifth-round victory over Jose Felix in January.
On that same card at the Ulster Hall earlier in the year, Walker took Lloyd Germain’s ‘0’ with a third-round stoppage, to back up his surprise win over previously unbeaten prospect Cyrus Pattinson, who retired after eight rounds.
As very much the ‘A-side’, Crocker is the 2/7 favourite and you can get 3/1 about Walker, who is stocky and will be ploughing forward with mean intentions from the get-go.
Crocker is big for the weight and physically strong, so should be able to more than hold his own up close and he also likes to get on with things himself. However, he is also the quicker and more skilful of the two and he can outbox Walker if he chooses to apply those tactics.
Both of Walker’s defeats came on points and Crocker will do well to stop his man, so I fancy the more versatile favourite to claim a decision victory at 6/4.
Posted at 1320 BST on 21/06/24