21Jackpot Boxing Tips

Harlem Eubank has not been seen in the ring since November of last year, securing a confidence-building win over Josh Wagner after suffering his first career defeat the time before. Eubank is not known for being a big puncher, with only a third of his wins coming inside the distance. He was being comfortably outboxed in his defeat to Jack Catterall before a cut caused by a clash of heads ended the fight. Catterall is the best opponent Eubank has faced, and he appeared to be a level below his opponent that night. Like Eubank, DAVID PAPOT's previous win came against Josh Wagner, but unlike the Englishman, Papot was able to get the stoppage, ending the fight in the seventh. That was a rare stoppage win for Papot, with only five of his thirty wins coming inside the distance. Papot's latest outing saw him lose a unanimous decision to the current IBF welterweight champion Liam Paro. Papot had Paro hurt in that fight, and he can take plenty of confidence from what was a good performance against a two-weight world champion. This represents a drop in class for Papot, and he can be expected to take advantage.

DIEGO PACHECO returns to the ring for the first time this year, having last been seen in December of last year. 25-0, Pacheco has secured a stoppage in 17 of his first 20 fights. However, four of his last five fights have all gone the distance. That is not a major negative, and he has proven he can see out the 12-round distance strongly. Pacheco has been brought along slowly, and at 25 years of age he looks set to be challenging for a world title soon. Immanuwel Aleem shouldn't prove to be too much of a threat to him in this fight, and the fight-result odds reflect that. Aleem brings a 22-4-3 record into this fight and comes in off the back of a points defeat to Lester Martínez back in March. Aleem has been stopped only once in his career; however, that was down at middleweight, and Pacheco represents a big step up in class. Pacheco will have a nine-inch reach advantage and a five-inch height advantage. Expect Pacheco to control this fight from the outset and look to secure victory with a knockout.

The number two ranked DRICUS DU PLESSIS (23-3) steps back into the octagon having lost his title to Khamzat Chimaev in August of last year. Nearly 12 months on, he faces number six ranked Kamaru Usman (21-4). Usman, a former UFC welterweight champion, fights for only the second time at middleweight, having lost to Chimaev back in October 2013. He has had only one fight since then, and that came more than a year ago when he beat Joaquin Buckley via a 5-round unanimous decision back down at welterweight. Usman has only had four stoppage wins in his UFC career, and all of those have come at a lighter weight. Six of Du Plessis' nine UFC wins have come inside the distance, and he is the natural middleweight in this contest. Usman often has the size and strength advantage at welterweight, but he will find it much more difficult up at middleweight. Usman has the superior wrestling ability, but at 39 and with concerns around knee injuries, this is more likely to be a fight controlled by Du Plessis. At the age of 32, he should have more left in the tank.