Chris Colbert vs Jose Valenzuela Preview March 25th, 2023
Chris Colbert of Brooklyn, New York will step back into the ring this Saturday, March 25th when he takes on Jose Valenzuela of Mexico. The 10-round lightweight battle takes place in Las Vegas on the undercard of the Caleb Plant vs David Benavidez tilt and can be seen live in America on Showtime. Colbert will be hoping to bounce back from his lone pro defeat as he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Hector Luis Garcia in February of last year after being decked in the seventh round. Valenzuela last boxed in September when he was stopped in the third round by Edwin De Los Santos and lost his WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Belt.
Colbert vs Valenzuela Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jose Valenzuela +100
- Chris Colbert -130
My Pick
The 26-year-old Colbert carries a record of 16-1 with 6 Ko’s. He earned a shot at the interim WBA Super Featherweight Title by stopping Miguel Beltran Jr in the first round for the vacant NABA-USA Lightweight Title in September, 2019. He then beat former world champion Jezzrel Corrales by unanimous decision for the interim title and defended it by stopping Jaime Arboleda in the 11th round and decisioning Tugstsogt Nyambayar before losing to Garcia in his last outing.
Colbert has fought 117 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a fine amateur career. He was the Daily News Golden Gloves champion of New York City in 2014 and won gold at the 2015 National Championships and qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials. However he decided to turn pro as he believed there was too much politics in the amateurs. Colbert stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 71-inch reach with excellent speed and boxing skills.
He owns a pretty solid chin despite being dropped by Garcia, but doesn’t have much in the way of one-punch power though with a current knockout ratio of just 35.3 per cent. His lack of power hasn’t really been a problem so far though due to his slick boxing skills but he was thoroughly beaten by Garcia and to be fair, he’s stopped three of his last seven opponents in Arboleda, Beltran and Mario Briones.
Valenzuela is just 23 years old and enters the contest with a mark of 12-1 with 8 Ko’s and has fought 45 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 70-inch reach which means the southpaw, who now fights out of America, is two inches taller than Colbert but gives up an inch in reach. He also has the edge in power with a current knockout ratio of 61.5 per cent.
This may not seem like a step up in class for Valenzuela as he stopped former world champion Francisco Vargas in just 85 seconds last April for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title and was then stopped himself five months later by De Los Santos. However, Vargas was pushing 40 years old and was damaged goods when he met him. Valenzuela’s first 11 opponents were basically novices and journeymen as he kicked off his pro career and made his way up the lightweight ranks.
Prediction…
There’s no doubt Valenzuela has good power and it needs to be respected but he needs to catch the fleet Colbert first. Colbert possesses superior boxing skills and speed and they should be enough to successfully pull him through in his move back up to the lightweight division.
Colbert will have to work for it but should bounce back with a win.
Play: Colbert -130 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Chris Colbert betting • Jose Valenzuela betting