Chris Eubank Jr. vs Avni Yildirim Preview Oct. 7th
The World Boxing Super Series continues on October 7th when IBO Super Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank Jr. of England will be defending his title against undefeated Avni Yildirim of Turkey in Stuttgart, Germany. Eubank last fought in July when he beat former three-time, two-division world champ Arthur Abraham of Armenia by unanimous decision. Yildirim’s last outing was in May when he beat Marco Antonio Periban by a 12-round unanimous decision for the vacant WBC International Super Middleweight Title. The fight can be seen on Sky Box Office in the UK and Super Channel in Canada.
Eubank Jr. vs Yildirim Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Avni Yildirim +420
- Chris Eubank Jr. -550
My Pick
The 28-year-old Eubank will enter the ring with an impressive record of 25-1 with 19 Kos to his name with his best opponent so far being Abraham. The champ has good power and boxing skills, but they weren’t enough to beat Billy Joe Saunders in November of 2014 when Eubank dropped a 12-round split decision to the current WBO World Middleweight Champion for his only career loss. Eubank enters the contest with 154 rounds of experience since turning pro in 2011. He’s faced mainly Grade B opponents and has never fought outside of his homeland.
At this stage, Eubank needs to consistently step up his level of opponent if he hopes to become a respected world champion like his father was. Fans were getting tired of less than stellar opponents other than Saunders and Abraham as there was no reason for it since he possesses the skills and power to be competitive against world-class boxers. And let’s not forget, the IBO isn’t really regarded as one of the world’s top boxing organizations. Eubank’s list of opponents also includes Nick Blackwell, Dmitri Chudinov, Gary O’Sullivan, Bradley Price and a few others most boxing fans have never heard of.
Eubank stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72.5-inch reach and has displayed impressive power up to now with a current knockout ratio of 73 per cent. He’s been wobbled a couple of times in the ring, but also has a solid chin. He’s at his best when he overwhelms his opponent with his relentless punching and is hard to keep at bay because of it. Eubank isn’t the hardest guy to hit if he gets goaded into a slugfest, but most boxers prefer not to go toe-to-toe with him. That being said, Saunders beat him by outboxing him in a close fight.
Yildirim is just 26 years old and has a perfect record of 16-0 with 10 Kos to his name. He turned pro in 2014 and has fought 81 rounds since then. He also has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 63 per cent. He’s the same height as the champions, but his 70-inch reach is 2.5 inches shorter than Eubank’s. The native of Sivas, Turkey has beaten the likes of Glen Johnson, Zoltan Sera, Aaron Pryor Jr., Walter Sequeira, Schiller Hyppolite, Junior Jackson and Periban. His opponents haven’t been too bad experience-wise as some of them were pretty tough cookies.
Yildirim had a decent amateur career and fought often as a light heavyweight. He has a good chin and has won several regional WBC titles since turning pro. He’s solid and tough and may be able to stand up to Eubank’s power, but he may not be able to handle the champion’s hand speed, mobility and crisp combination punching. He needs to gain some respect by nailing Eubank with something early on to make sure the Briton’s wary of his punching power.
Prediction…
This should be an interesting and competitive fight, but I think Eubank’s a bit better when it comes to boxing skills and will retain his title when it’s all said and done.
Yildirim’s a bit of an unknown, so I’ll stick with Eubank.
Play: Eubank -550 @ BetOnline.ag
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Avni Yildirim betting • Chris Eubank betting