Expert Boxing Betting Picks of the Week – May 28th

Mixed martial arts has overtaken boxing in terms of popularity in the USA and betting action at Mybookie.ag. That said, this coming weekend is one of the best of the year in the sweet science with a handful of title fights around the world. Here’s a look at the latest Boxing Betting Odds and picks for the upcoming days.

Expert Boxing Betting Picks of the Week – May 28th

Jeff Horn vs. Terence Crawford

• Boxing Betting Odds: Horn +665 / Crawford -930

This is the biggest bout of the weekend and is streamed on ESPN+ from Las Vegas. Crawford is ranked as the No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Ring Magazine and is the -930 Mybookie.ag favorite even though Horn is the WBO welterweight champion and puts his title on the line. Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs), of Australia, is due to make his second title defense against former undisputed junior welterweight world champion Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs), an American, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After dominating the junior welterweight division, Crawford now has his sights set on Horn’s 147-pound belt in a fight that will air exclusively on that new ESPN+ subscription service. These two were set to fight in April but Crawford suffered an injury while training. Horn wasn’t a big name worldwide until he scored a stunning unanimous points decision over Manny Pacquiao last July. That was a controversial decision perhaps helped by the fact that Horn fought in front of some 51,000 at Suncorp Stadium in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia. Horn defended the belt with an 11th-round knockout of Gary Corcoran on Dec. 13. This will be Horn’s first fight in the USA. There’s a reason that Crawford is such a heavy favorite. The 30-year-old Crawford became the undisputed 140-pound champion last August when he unified the division’s four major belts by knocking out Julius Indongo in the third round. He then vacated the titles in order to move up to 147 pounds to take on Horn as his mandatory challenger.

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares

• Boxing Betting Odds: TBA

From Los Angeles and on Showtime, there are two title fights. Leo Santa Cruz takes on Abner Mares for Santa Cruz’s WBA super featherweight title. In addition, Jermell Charlo faces Austin Trout for Charlo’s WBC junior middleweight title. It’s a rematch between Santa Cruz and Mares. On Aug. 29, 2015, at Staples Center in L.A., Santa Cruz won a vacant featherweight world title by majority decision — 117-111, 117-111 and 114-114 — over fellow Mexico native Mares in an action-packed fight. The two agreed to a rematch almost right away but it kept being delayed for one reason or another. He and Mares fought on the same card last October and both won, finally setting up the sequel. Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs), who also has won world titles at bantamweight and junior featherweight, will be making the second defense of his second featherweight title reign. Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs), who has also won world titles at bantamweight and junior featherweight, has fought just twice since the first bout with Santa Cruz. Meanwhile, Charlo (30-0, 15 KOs) will be making his third title defense when he meets Trout (31-4, 17 KOs). Trout is familiar to the Charlo family. Jermell’s twin brother, Jermall, won a unanimous decision over Trout in May 2016 to retain his version of the junior middleweight title, though he has since moved up in weight. Jermell Charlo has eyes on a possible unification fight with Jarrett Hurd in the fall but Trout could scuttle those plans. Trout already has one upset on his resume: outpointing Miguel Cotto in 2012.

Terry Flanagan vs. Maurice Hooker

• Boxing Betting Odds: TBA

This card is from Manchester, England. It’s actually headlined by former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury finally returning to the ring against Sefer Seferi. Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) has not boxed since he outpointed Wladimir Klitschko in a huge upset to claim three world title belts and the lineal crown on Nov. 28, 2015, in Germany. They were supposed to have a rematch, but Fury pulled out a few times and has had problems with drugs, alcohol and mental health issues. He has been stripped of all his belts. The 39-year-old Seferi (23-1, 21 KOs) has a nice record but is basically a tomato can. Seferi, who has won his last two bouts, has faced mostly sub-.500 opposition since losing a wide 10-round unanimous decision in September 2016 to Manuel Charr, the only notable opponent of his career. Meanwhile, Terry Flanagan faces Maurice Hooker for the vacant WBO junior welterweight title. Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs), of England, and Hooker (23-0-3, 16 KOs) were originally supposed to fight on April 14 in London on the undercard of middleweight world titleholder Billy Joe Saunders’ defense against Martin Murray. But when Saunders suffered a hand injury, the card was postponed. The WBO junior welterweight belt is vacant because Crawford relinquished all four of the major belts in the division last summer to move up in weight.

Expert Predictions

Crawford dominates Horn, Santa Cruz beats Mares again by decision, Charlo decisions Trout, and Flanagan decisions Hooker (Fury will win easily).