Speaking yesterday at a pre-fight press conference about his first title defence, Haye who has been much calmer in the lead-up to the Ruiz fight, than the trash-talking boxer we had become accustomed with prior to the Valuev fight, exploded into life. “I’m going to decapitate him” and “He’s (Ruiz) gonna get knocked out”.

Big talk at last from Haye. But even Haye is aware that twice WBA champion, Ruiz, has only ever suffered 1 KO in 54 professional fights.

American based Puerto Rican, Ruiz, is known as the “Quiet Man”, a hardworking journeyman with a somewhat lacklustre style of boxing that doesn’t quite adhere him to the hearts of many boxing betting fans.

However, Ruiz, knows that Haye suffered a broken hand in his points victory over Valuev. He also knows that this is Haye’s first defence and his first real test and you can be sure that Ruiz will be pulling from all that ring experience to see if the “new kid” Haye has what it takes.

#market(hayevsruiz)#

It is obvious that Haye is feeling the pressure to the build-up of this fight. He’ll also be worrying about his hand, although Haye and his team will never publicly state the fact. The sudden outburst from Haye yesterday was more vocal than threat, a promotional volley to stir interest in the PPV audience (not one American network has bought rights to show the fight, such is the interest) rather than a clear indication to Ruiz of how the fight will panel out.

At a time when boxing needs Haye to help reinvigorate the stagnant heavyweight division it is imperative that the “new kid” on the block doesn’t get the jitters and allows Ruiz to claim his 3rd WBA Heavyweight title. That would be a bitter blow to the sport. Haye needs to win this to help put British boxing firmly back at the top table.

I predict Haye will stop Ruiz in the 5th, sadly there will be no KO, but a victory is a victory and a confidence boosting title defence under Haye’s reign and perhaps America might just sit-up and take notice of this young Londoner at last.

Ricky Hatton is a very likeable man and boxer. His metamorphosis between Ricky the bloke next door who likes a pint and pie into Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton, former WBA Welterweight Champion, is one that made him a modern icon to many boxing betting punters.

It seems that Hatton wants to erase the Manny Pacquiao fight like a blotted stain on a very gleaming fight CV. Yet, Hatton, should accept that defeat for what it truly is, a lesson learned, that there are now better boxers out there than you. Not many mind, but some.

The rumour mill is in full swing after Ricky Hatton’s announcement. The latest conjecture is that Hatton is lining up Amir Khan as a final curtain call. A fight that would amass a healthy purse for both fighters. But at what cost to either fighter.
Hatton’s boxing reputation would be further tarnished if he lost, never mind his future health concerns. As for Khan, a defeat against Hatton would seriously dent his aspirations although to be fair, Khan has more time on his hands than Hatton to wipe away any blots against his record.

Now, we wait until Hatton’s opponent is announced to see if that “itch” he talks about is going to be scratched at long last.

No doubt, an enthusiastic crowd will pack into Newcastle’s, Metro Radio Arena, in anticipation of Khan racking up a successful defence of his title. The bookies see this one as a foregone conclusion with boxing betting punters looking to Paddy Power to offer the best odds of 1/7 for a Khan victory.

Will it be just a ‘walk-in-the-park’ for Khan against Salita, or has the 27 year old, Jewish boxer from Brooklyn got anything in his armoury that could worry Khan and pull off one of the biggest boxing betting upsets in a long time?

According to an old trainer of Salita, Jimmy O’Pharrow, the best way to describe Salita is, “looking Russian, praying Jewish and fighting black’. Despite having an impressive, unbeaten in 31 fights record on paper, Salita has not fought anyone worthy in the division. Until now! Hence, the expectancy level on Khan to quickly wipe Salita from the scene.

Salita is a highly religious man and his boxing career has been stifled somewhat because of his strict beliefs in not fighting on The Jewish Sabbath. One feels he’ll need all his faith to overcome Khan in Newcastle on Saturday night.

Amir Khan v Dmitriy Salita is live on Sky Box Office from 8pm on Saturday night and you can make it even more interesting by getting a FREE £25 bet from Free Betting Online.

Amir Khan vs Dmitriy Salita Betting Odds

Amir Khan	1/8	1/7	1/6	9/50	1/8	1/8	2/17	1/8	1/7
Dmitriy Salita	9/2	9/2	4	53/10	9/2	9/2	9/2	9/2	4
Draw		33	33	41	33	33	33	33	33

The lead-up to this fight has been bizarre, to say the least. Haye has been in hyperdrive promoting this contest. Spewing forth trash talk at every opportunity, some of which would have made Tyson blush. The surreal press conference where Haye squared up to a 7ft man in a gargoyle mask and then proceeded to knock the head off a Valuev cardboard cut out was at best a tacky wind-up.

Appearances on TV and Radio shows were also on Haye’s media circuit where his sparkled showmanship shone for all to see. Haye’s constant media tour has put this fight firmly on the minds of the British public and elsewhere. For the first time in a long time, boxing has once again been thrust into the spotlight. And through all this, have we heard anything from the big Russian regarding Haye’s tormenting taunts – nada!

Like a sleeping bear, Valuev has been noticeably missing from the media circus surrounding the fight. That was until yesterday, when Valuev finally awoke from his pre-fight preperations to answer back at Haye’s jibes, “Haye can talk all he likes. He has a couple of more days to speak but then it will be time to climb into the ring and we’ll see what he does.”

The big fight is live on Sky Box Office this Saturday from 8pm. Of course you can always make it more interesting by getting a Free £25 Bet from Free Betting Online on who will be the WBA Champion at the end of the Haye vs Valuev matchup.

Haye vs Valuev WBA Championship Betting Odds

David Haye	5/6	4/5	4/5	11/2	5/6	8/11	8/11	8/11	8/11
Nikolay Valuev	20/21	11/10	1	7/5	5/6	1	1	11/10	1
Draw	28	33	33	49	25	22	28	33	25

However, boxing betting fans are unconvinced, with the Mexican-American’s tough talk, as the money is going in favour of the Ukranian, Klitschko, 38, to still remain champion at the end of the contest.

It is a stinging show of non-commitment by the more experienced boxing betting punters not too get to wound up in the hyperbole emitting from Arreola’s camp. They (Arreola’s camp) claim Klitschko’s too old or he’s not faced a big hitter like Arreola for about 5 years or Arreola’s too hungry to let this moment pass.

Sure enough, Arreola has been working more on his physique, in the run-up to this fight. Toning his chubby frame to match the strength of his punches. And he’s ready to unveil his new look just prior to the fight. As Arreola’s puts it, “I’m a 7/1 underdog.” he said. “At the weigh-in, it’ll probably drop to 3/1, so get your bets in now.”

Klitschko, seems happy enough for Arreola to generate all the pre-fight headlines but adds that although he’s not bothered about generating newspaper column inches, he is readying himself for his toughest test since he came out of retirement, “I have never fought anyone with such a good record as Arreola. I know he’s a good fighter and I am prepared for the hardest fight of my career.”

WBC Boxing Betting Odds

Vitaly Klitschko	1/8	1/12	1/8	2/13	1/12	1/10	1/8	1/10	1/12
Chris Arreola	5	6	5	32/5	6	11/2	6	11/2	6
Draw		33	33	31	33	28	25	33	25

To many boxing betting supporters the undefeated Arreola could prove a handful for Klitschko. But is a handful really enough to win the WBC belt from the ageing Ukrainian? Arreola’s previous proves he likes to turn boxing matches into slug-fests, however, going toe-to-toe, punch for punch with the 6’7” Klitschko could either win him the fight or be a disastrous mistake. Admittedly, Klitschko isn’t fast but neither is the American, so a boxing masterclass this won’t be. It’ll be down to who hits the hardest and the most accurate. If Arreola can land enough big hitters early enough he might become the new WBC heavyweight champ.

7 foot Russian heavyweight WBA champion, Nikolai Valuev (pictured above), will put his title up for contest again British hopeful, David Haye. Valuev is a monster of a man, but without a doubt the weaker in boxing skills of the current Eastern Heavyweight champions. That said he still will prove a formidable opponent for the much-smaller Haye.

Haye has been likened to former world champ, Evander Holyfield, in that he has stepped up from cruiserweight to the heavy weight division. Haye has only lost once in his 22 professional bouts, that was back in 2004 and was previously undisputed cruiserweight champion. Now the prospect of winning his first heavyweight title is well within his reach (well, as long as his reach can hit upwards of 7ft).

Its going to need a massive effort by Hatton, and the defeat by Floyd Mayweather Junior will still hurt the fighter, but he can turn that experience into a positive. Pacquiao destroyed Oscar de la Hoya in his previous fight, but it was obvious that de la Hoya had seen better days in the squared circle and was fighting like a man who knew his glory boxing days were behind him.

Instinct might win the day for Hatton and boxing betting fans might make some money on the more aggressive Hatton winning the day. As long as Hatton survives those early Pacquiao cluster punches then Vegas might see something special come Saturday night.

Manny Pacquiao v Ricky Hatton Betting Odds
Pacquiao	5/11	1/2	1/2	4/9	11/21	4/9	4/9	1/2	9/20	2/5
Hatton	9/5	6/4	6/4	7/4	39/19	13/8	13/8	6/4	9/5	7/4
Draw		28	25	33	39	33	20	20	33	25

Now Hatton’s people are scouring around trying to fight an opponent for the fighter. Early talk has been about a match-up between Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya or a rematch with the currently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr, who outclassed and outboxed Hatton in their previous bout. Another possibility is the winner of the Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz bout.

Considering that Manny Pacquiao has defeated Oscar de la Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz in his quest to become WBC champ, no-matter who Hatton fights it’s a second tier card. Until both camps can settle on an amicable split of the prize money – then the Hatton – Pacquiao fight will remain the card that the majority of boxing betting fans will be waiting earnestly to see.

If you cast your mind back to the Olympics last Summer, perhaps you’ll remember some of the young names that shone in Beijing : James DeGale, Billy Joe Saunders and Frankie Gavin. All three have turned pro and it will be interesting to watch whom out the trio makes the transition most smoothly.

Add Hatton and Khan into the mix as they continue to make those stinging KO defeats a thing of distant memories and prove themselves to be true World Champions of their divisions. However, the one fighter that I will be closely paying attention to is Harrison. This former world Champion had a dogged 2008 after spending four months behind bars. Stories of heavy drinking combined with rage fits don’t paint a pretty picture for Harrison but there are whispers that he is on the road-to-recovery and might, just might, be looking for a return to the ring. I’m sure all boxing betting fans wish him well as he battles back to his best.

The news filtering though to the boxing betting world, was it was Khan’s former trainer, Rubio, who selected Prescott as a fitting opponent. Surely, you wonder, they read the guy’s fight history : 17 knockouts delivered from 19 fights. No alarm bells ringing that Prescott, might, just might, know how to box a little bit? It only took Khan’s corner 54 seconds to figure out that he was out of his depth in this fight. By that time Khan was nursing a sore face and his first ever professional defeat and Prescott was walking away with the WBO intercontinental lightweight title.

The defeat has been a huge set-back in Khan’s career. Now, the emphasis, is on Amir Khan getting back to some hard work with a new trainer, possibly American Freddie Roach. This is where his mettle will be tested, regaining his title like all true great champions before him. First though, he must find a trainer he is comfortable with, he must be settled and then the road to righting wrongs shall begin. We wish him all the best at the Free Bets Blog.

Here’s another look at just how dangerous Prescott is!