Boxing betting tips: Paul vs Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano live on Netflix

Boxing betting tips: Taylor vs Serrano

2pts Amanda Serrano to win by decision at 2/1 (SpreadEx, Sporting Index)

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'I don’t want any part of this freak show'

It’s still hard to believe I am writing this, but Mike Tyson returns to a professional boxing ring to take on Jake Paul on Friday night.

Yes, you read that correctly.

It’s over 19 years after he was beaten into retirement by huge underdog Kevin McBride and if you had suggested back then that Tyson would headline a stadium show in front of around 80,000 people as a 58-year-old in 2024, you would have been laughed out of the room.

But here we are because, as always in boxing, money calls the tune and ‘YouTuber’ Paul has been generating plenty of it since stepping into the sport for his novelty fights. This is set to break all kinds of records, being the first live sporting event on Netflix, and will bring in a huge worldwide audience.

Paul knows how to create attention and taking on one of the most famous people on the planet in Tyson certainly seems to have done the trick. Despite an age gap even Leonardo DiCaprio would be embarrassed about, Paul is still only an 8/13 chance against the ageing legend, who has been supported into 2/1 this week.

I won’t waste too many words on this circus act, but I really hope some sort of agreement is in place for the pair to see out the scheduled eight, two-minutes rounds. The last thing boxing needs is headlines of a 27-year-old knocking out someone close to being eligible to collect his pension, especially when the latter suffered a medical emergency on a plane just a few months ago which forced the date for this show to be pushed back.

With that in mind, the 13/8 for it to go the distance could be the way to scratch the itch for those looking to get involved, but I don’t want any part of this freak show.

Eyes on worthy fight between two legends

On the plus side, the good thing about all the eyeballs on this event at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington and money generated by the main event is the trickle-down effect to the ‘real’ fights.

Consequently, the highly-anticipated rematch between Katie Taylor and AMANDA SERRANO gets the huge platform it deserves, and both are rumoured to be getting paid in excess of $6million, which dwarfs their previous highest purses.

The pair made history in April 2022 when they contested the first female headline bout at the iconic Madison Square Garden and the sell-out show exceeded all expectations in front of a deafening crowd.

Already legends of the game before their first encounter, they put on arguably the greatest female fight of all-time on the biggest occasion to date and, thankfully, even more people will be watching the return this weekend.

Taylor started well that night and had success with her movement early doors, but Serrano began to take over in the middle rounds and came so close to stopping her opponent in a brutally one-sided fifth session. However, Taylor’s unbelievable will to win saw her finish strongly, as she got back to her boxing and took the later rounds to leave result in the balance at the final bell.

Taylor was awarded a split decision victory on that famous night in Manhattan, but it really could have gone either way and nobody would have argued if Serrano had got the nod. In fact, she would have done if Taylor had touched down when her were legs buckled by a big shot in a dramatic last few seconds of the contest.

The bookies could hardly split them first time around and it’s no surprise to see a similar scenario again, with opinions divided across the layers. If you shop around, you can get 11/10 for both ladies and a sound case can be made for either fighter coming out on top here.

Enough has been written about what the pair have achieved already, so let’s concentrate on what has happened in the two and a half years since they last faced each other. That first fight will have taken plenty out of them both and neither is likely to be quite the same for the rematch, especially as they are now in the twilight of their brilliant careers.

After a routine defence of her lightweight titles against Karen Carabajal, Taylor stepped up to challenge Chatelle Cameron for all the belts at 140lb on her return to Dublin, but her dream homecoming turned into a nightmare as the champion claimed a deserved points victory.

However, despite being written off by many, Taylor pulled a huge performance out of the bag in the Cameron rematch 12 months ago and gained revenge via a majority decision. The Irish heroine was back to what she does best that night, when on her toes and rattling off rapid combinations as she bounced in and out of range. Does she still have another effort like that in the tank?

Serrano has been more active since the first fight, with five successful outings taking her record to 47-2-1 (31 KOs). Her level of opposition wasn’t that of Cameron, but she has had little trouble in those victories, and she looked good when stopping Stevie Morgan inside two rounds last time out in July.

It could be crucial that she chose to arrange another fight when the original date for the Taylor rematch was pushed back, giving her a good warm-up for this much tougher test while the latter has now been out of the ring for nearly a year. Inactivity can be a big negative for older fighters and, now 38, we’re not certain to see the same Taylor who rolled back the years against Cameron 12 months ago.

Serrano is only two years younger at 36 but looks the fresher of the two.

The weight could tilt the balance back towards Taylor, though. Featherweight ruler Serrano had to step up two divisions for their first bout in 2022, but now has to go up another weight for the return as Taylor has chosen to stay at super lightweight after capturing all the belts against Cameron.

Taylor is the naturally heavier of the two, but Serrano has a big frame and has skipped around the divisions with ease to become a seven-weight world champion. Adding to that, Serrano’s tune-up in the summer was at this weight, so it’s not like she is doing 140lb at short notice.

Despite being the naturally bigger fighter, it was Taylor who had the speed advantage in the first fight and Serrano was the puncher. That latter point was never more evident than in the fifth round when the big left hand of Serrano had Taylor stumbling all over the ring and in desperate need of the bell. The Puerto Rican still carries that power, but whether Taylor’s speed is still the same is the big question and that could be the deciding factor.

As always, the challenger should be pressing the action from the get-go, while Taylor will be looking to utilise her footwork and let her fast hands go in spurts. The worry for Taylor, though, is if those combinations aren’t what they were – as was saw in the first Cameron clash – then the single shots won’t be enough to deter her heavy-handed opponent.

Another high-paced 10-rounder is on the cards between these evenly-matched future Hall-of-Famers, but the 2/1 about Serrano claiming revenge by decision looks the value call, with Taylor only 11/8 to prevail by the same method.

Expect drama and plenty of action once again, but the recent activity and younger legs of Serrano could give her the edge in a close fight to call.

Posted at 1140 GMT on 14/11/24

Jake Paul v Mike Tyson: Big fight details and TV coverage

• When: Friday November 15
• Where: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
• Undercard start time: Undercard 7pm local time, 0100 GMT (Saturday)
• Main Event: Approx 2200 local time, 0400 GMT (Saturday)
• TV channel and cost: Streamed on Netflix (no extra charge on top of subscription)
• Sky Bet odds: Tyson 2/1, Paul 1/2

Jake Paul v Mike Tyson: Full fight card

• MAIN EVENT: Jake Paul v Mike Tyson
• Katie Taylor (c) v Amanda Serrano
  WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles
• Mario Barrios (c) v Abel Ramos
  WBC welterweight title
• Neeraj Goyat v Whindersson Nunes
• Shadasia Green v Melinda Watpool
• Lucas Bahdi v Armando Casamonica
• Bruce Carrington v Dana Coolwell

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