Courtney Pennington vs Custio Clayton Preview February 3rd, 2024
Custio Clayton of Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Canada is set to do battle with Courtney Pennington of Brooklyn, New York in a 10-round junior middleweight tilt this Saturday, February 3rd in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Clayton last saw action in May, 2022 when he was dismantled in two rounds by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis while Pennington was stopped in the 10th and final round by Raul Curiel in his last outing in September in a shot at the NABF Welterweight Title.
Pennington vs Clayton Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Courtney Pennington +800
- Custio Clayton -1500
My Pick
Clayton is now 36 years old and represented Canada at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. The six-time Canadian National Amateur Champion won his first two bouts in the event but was then defeated in the quarterfinals. He reportedly went 32-13 as an amateur and was once beaten by Errol Spence Jr. Since turning pro in 2014, Clayton has boxed 127 rounds and has posted a near-perfect mark of 19-1-1 with 12 Ko’s.
He has pretty good power in his fists as 63.2 per cent of his wins have come by way of stoppage. He had also displayed a solid chin until he stepped up too far in class against Ennis the last time out and paid dearly for it. Clayton stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69.5-inch reach and now fights out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s capital city. He won the vacant WBC Continental Americas and vacant IBF International Welterweight Titles in 2017 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jhony Montano.
Clayton then won the vacant WBO International Welterweight Crown via a 10-round unanimous decision over Cristian Coria in his next bout six months later. He added the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Steven Danyo in 2018. Clayton’s lone draw was a 10-round affair with Sergey Lipinets in 2020 for the interim IBF Welterweight Title. He’s also beaten Diego Ramirez, Johan Perez and DeMarcus Corley.
As for Pennington, he’s no spring chicken either as he’s 37 years old and carries around a record of 17-7-3 with 7 Ko’s. He made his pro debut back in 2012 and has 160 rounds of experience under his belt. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with an unlisted reach so is an inch shorter than Clayton. As far as power goes, Pennington is a light hitter as just 41.2 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage and he’s halted just two of his last 13 opponents.
Pennington’s chin isn’t the greatest either as he was stopped by Vlad Panin in the fifth round in May, 2022, by James Metcalf after six rounds in December, 2022 and by Curiel in his last outing in September, so his last three defeats have all been by stoppage. He’s also lost decisions to Wendy Toussaint in 2014; to Muhammad Tuba in 2014; to Patrick Day in 2016 and to Charles Conwell over 10 rounds in 2019 in a shot at the vacant IBF USBA Super Welterweight Title.
The three draws on Pennington’s record were a six-round affair with Marcus Beckford in 2014; a six-rounder with Devon Moncriffe in 2015 and an eight-round affair with Jose de Jesus Macias in 2019. Pennington won the Universal Boxing Federation International Super Welterweight Belt in 2017 with an eight-round unanimous nod over Khiary Gray. He’s also beaten the likes of Rich Neves, Boyd Melson, Delvin Rodriguez, Steven Martinez, Greg Vendetti and Erik Spring.
Prediction…
Clayton was impressive in his bout with Lipinets when he stepped up in class the first time but couldn’t compete against Jaron Ennis, but not many people can. Clayton will have some ring rust though and he shouldn’t really have to worry about Pennington’s power. Both boxers will give it their best effort as usual this weekend but I’m expecting Clayton to bounce back from his lone loss as a pro on Saturday night with a stoppage win.
I think Clayton’s skills and power will be the difference.
Play Clayton -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Courtney Pennington betting • Custio Clayton betting