Roger Gutierrez vs Hector Luis Garcia Preview Aug. 20th, 2022
WBA World Junior Lightweight Champion Roger Gutierrez of Venezuela will be defending the title for the second time this Saturday, August 20th when he takes on unbeaten southpaw Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic. The 12-rounder from Hollywood, Florida can be seen live in America on Showtime and on TSN 2 in Canada. Gutierrez beat Rene Alvarado by unanimous decision in January, 2021 to win the title and then be Alvarado the same way in a rematch seven months later in his first defence. He won the title by scores of 113-112 across the board even though he dropped Alvarado twice in the third round and once in the 12th. Garcia last fought in February when he beat Chris Colbert by a wide 12-round unanimous decision.
Gutierrez vs Garcia Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Roger Gutierrez +220
- Hector Luis Garcia -280
My Pick
The 27-year-old Gutierrez enters the bout with a mark of 26-3-1 with 20 Ko’s. He’s fought 119 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 as a teenager and appears to have quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent. Gutierrez stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a wingspan of 69.5 inches. Hus first defeat came at the hands of Rene Alvarado in 2017 when he was stopped in the seventh round.
He then dropped an eight-round unanimous decision to Hector Tanajara in June, 2018 and was stopped after four rounds by Oscar Duarte in his next outing three months later. His lone draw was a four-round affair with Alfredo Mirabal in October, 2014. Gutierrez’s biggest wins have been against Alvarado in the two rematches and he’s also beaten Leonardo Padilla and Eduardo Hernandez.
The 30-year-old Garcia carries around an impressive record of 15-0 with 10 Ko’s and also has some power in his fists with the same knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent. He’s boxed just 79 rounds since turning pro in 2016 after a fine amateur career. Garcia measures in at 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 67-inch reach which means he’s giving up 2.5-inches in reach to Gutierrez.
As an amateur, Garcia fought in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he was beaten by Dmitriy Asanau in the bantamweight division. He won a silver medal at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games where he was beaten by Robeisy Ramirez in the final. He also captured silver at the 2015 Pan American Games and at the 2015 Pan American Championships where he lost to Andy Cruz of Cuba in both finals.
Garcia hasn’t taken on any top-10 opponents other than Colbert but he looked very impressive in that fight. He’s also beaten the likes of Manuel Garcia, Rafael Hernandez, Antoni Armas, Leonel Lugo, Ronal Ron, Jose Luis Graterol and Miguel Moreno. He won the vacant WBA Fedelatin Featherweight Title in 2018 when he stopped Robin Zamora in the second round Oddly, Garcia has also fought to three no-contests against Marco Acevedo, Charlie Serrano and Alfonso Perez.
Prediction…
Both boxers have good power but Gutierrez doesn’t really have the slickest boxing skills. Garcia made a name for himself in his last outing by easily beating Chris Colbert. Gutierrez generally struggles a bit when he steps up in class but he always has a puncher’s chance. But based on Garcia’s performance against Colbert I think he’s more than capable of taking the title as long as his chin proves to be as solid as it seems.
Garcia’s chin will decide this fight.
Play: Garcia -280 @ BetOnline.ag
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Hector Luis Garcia betting • Roger Gutierrez betting