Ricards Bolotniks vs Craig Richards Preview November 26th, 2022
Light heavyweight prospects Craig Richards of England and Rihard Bolotniks of Latvia meet in a 10-round bout this Saturday, November 26th at Wembley Arena in London, England. The fight can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Richards last fought in May when he lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Joshua Buatsi. Bolotniks last saw action in April when he stopped Hrvoje Sep via an eight-round unanimous decision.
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Bolotniks vs Richards Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ricards Bolotniks +425
- Craig Richards -650
My Pick
The 32-year-old Richards climbs into the ring with a mark of 17-3-1 with 10 Ko’s and has boxed 123 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a pretty good amateur career. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch reach and possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 47.6 per cent. He performed well in a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in May, 2021 in a shot at his WBA Super World Light Heavyweight Belt and also looked good against Buatsi in his lastest defeat.
Richards’ first pro loss came at the hands of Frank Buglioni by 12-round unanimous decision for the British light Heavyweight Title in 2017. His lone draw was an eight-round affair with Chad Sugden in 2019. Richards won the British Southern Area Super Middleweight Crown in 2017 with a 10-round decision win over Alan Higgins and captured the vacant WBA Continental light Heavyweight Title by stopping Jake Ball in the third round in 2019.
Richards took a huge step up in class against Bivol even though he may not have deserved a title shot but showed he was competitive enough to be a legitimate contender. He owns a solid chin and can be a handful for any light heavyweight in the world if he’s at his best on fight night but he’s really more of a European-level fighter than a world-class one.
The 32-year-old Bolotniks enters the fight with a record of 19-6-1 with 8 Ko’s and has fought 147 rounds since turning pro in 2013. He’s not the most powerful puncher in the division as his current knockout ratio stands at just 30.8 per cent and he doesn’t own the greatest chin either as he’s been stopped in four of his six losses. Bolotniks measures 6-feet-1-inch tall, the same as Richards, but unfortunately has an unlisted reach.
Bolotniks’ was stopped twice in his first four pro outings as Abel Mikaelyan halted him in the third round in 2013 in his second fight and Andreas Evangelou stopped him in the fourth round two bouts later. He was also stopped by Thabisco Mchunu in the sixth round in 2018 and by Joshua Buatsi in the 11th round last year. Bolotniks also dropped a six round unanimous decision to Kevin Buval in 2015 and an eight-round split decision to Micki Nielsen in 2018. His lone draw was a six-round affair with Pascal Villeneuve in 2015.
The biggest wins in Bolotniks’ career have been against Jarek Prusak, Cesar Cordoba, Alejandro Valori, Patrick Mendy and Gasan Gasanov. He won the vacant Eurasian Boxing Parliament Light Heavyweight Title in October, 2019 with a unanimous decision over Sergei Ekimov. Two months later he captured the WBO European Light Heavyweight Belt by stopping Steven Ward in the first round and has defended it with a 10-round unanimous nod over Hosea Burton and a 10th-round TKO over Serge Michel.
Prediction…
Richards gained some valuable experience in his fights with Dmitry Bivol and Joshua Buatsi, but like Bolotniks, he has fallen just short when stepping up in class. This is a pretty good European matchup but while Bolotniks will give it a good shot I think Richards’ edge in power and skills will be enough to see him come out on top.
Richards power and skills should be the difference.
Play: Richards -650 @ BetOnline.ag
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Craig Richards betting • Ricards Bolotniks betting