Boxing betting tips: Saturday April 24
2pts Felix Cash to win in rounds 7-12 at 7/2 (Sky Bet)
1pt Callum Johnson to win in rounds 4-6 at 19/10 (888sport)
Denzel Bentley v Felix Cash
When: Saturday April 24, approx. 2200 BST
Where: York Hall
TV info: BT Sport
There is something special about a British title fight at the York Hall, and FELIX CASH versus Denzel Bentley has all the ingredients to be an absolute cracker on Saturday.
As much as I love the big shows in Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden, or a stadium fight in the UK, a domestic dust-up in Bethnal Green still whets my appetite more than anything else and, even with no crowd in the famous old venue, this clash should deliver.
Both men are unbeaten, improving with every bout and deserve credit for taking the fight, as they could easily have avoided each other and continued their progress on easier paths. There is also genuine bad blood between the pair, with a sparring session three years ago getting very heated and reportedly boiling over into the car park of the Peacock Gym in East London. They now get to settle the old score just a few miles down the road.
After years of Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren doing very little business together, this represents back-to-back shows where the headline represents Matchroom versus Queensbury Promotions following Demetrius Andrade's win over Liam Williams in Miami last weekend. The 'home' fighter came out on top that night and it is interesting that Cash is an 8/15 favourite here despite being in the 'away' corner, but there are good reasons why.
After a fine amateur career when he was part of the Great Britain set up in Sheffield for several years, the 28-year-old has been highly-touted since turning over in 2016 and has impressed in racking up 13 straight wins (nine early).
He had to dig deep in his fight of the year contender with Jack Cullen in November 2019, as his opponent stood up to plenty of punishment and kept firing back until wilting in the eighth-round of a frenetic encounter. Not only has that line of form worked out well, with Cullen going on to defeat the previously unbeaten John Docherty, but Cash also appeared to have learnt plenty from the first real test of his career as he was very good in systematically breaking down former world title challenger Jason Welborn over five rounds last time out.
Without the same amateur pedigree, Bentley (15/8) didn't have such lofty expectations on his shoulders at the start of his career but is on a steep upward curve and his fourth-round stoppage of Mark Heffron in their November rematch is arguably the best piece of form on offer in this contest.
After having Heffron down in the second round of their first fight, he let his man back into it by switching off for periods and being a little too defensive. However, the Battersea man clearly learnt plenty from that as he held his feet and occupied the centre of the ring much more frequently in the return and repeated right-hand bombs caused swelling to Heffron's left eye that resulted in the fight being halted after four sessions.
Twelve of his 14 wins have come by stoppage, including 10 in the first two rounds, and with Cash arriving on the back of three consecutive knockouts, both men have the power to end this early. However, that doesn't mean we should expect a fire-fight from the first bell. Both are skilful boxers willing to be patient and wait for their opportunities.
Bentley is an awkward switch-hitter who is more at home on the back foot, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake and then punishing them with heavy counters. Cash is more orthodox in his style, preferring to work his way in behind a fast, effective jab and, once he lets his hands go, he offers plenty of variety as well as accuracy.
I expect to see better versions of the two men than we have seen before and there is no outcome that would be a surprise in this well-matched and intriguing contest, but Cash just ticks a few more boxes and that is enough for me to side with the favourite.
Cash has the size advantage and also looks to the quicker of the two, while he has the edge in experience and pedigree. Perhaps more importantly, though, he has had his 'gut-check' and passed it with flying colours against Cullen, whereas we are really yet to see how Bentley reacts when in the trenches.
It could be cagey and technical early doors, but I fancy it to heat up around the middle rounds and the cleaner, sharper punches of Cash to begin to take effect. A Cash stoppage looks pretty solid at 7/5, but the 7/2 about it coming in the second half of the fight is too juicy to turn down and that rates the value play.
What's the best bet on the undercard?
The undercard was due to be about light heavyweight rivals Anthony Yarde and CALLUM JOHNSON showcasing themselves ahead of their potential battle later in the year, but a tooth abscess forced the former to withdraw earlier in the week and it is now down to the latter to make a statement.
This represents Johnson's first fight back with the aforementioned Warren after the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist turned professional with Queensbury, before jumping ship to Matchroom. His sole defeat in 19 outings was against the brilliant Artur Beterbiev in October 2019, when he had the champion down before getting stopped in the fourth, and a good early win over Sean Monaghan followed five months later. However, he has been out for over two years and, now 35, he has no time to waste in the final push of his career.
He is 1/25 to see off Emil Markic (32-2) and should justify those odds fairly comfortably, as the visitor from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been stopped in the fourth round on both occasions he has stepped up in class and will do well to make it past the halfway point of this 10-rounder. The hot favourite may need a bit of time to shake off the ring-rust, in which case him getting the stoppage in rounds four to six makes appeal at 19/10.
Posted at 1105 BST on 23/04/21
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