Erik Bazinyan vs Shakeel Phinn Preview May 2nd, 2024
Undefeated NABA and NABF Super Middleweight Champion Erik Bazinyan of Armenia will be putting his NABF title on the line this Thursday, May 2nd against Shakeel Phinn of Quebec, Canada. The 10-rounder will be held at the Montreal Casino in Quebec and can be seen live in America on ESPN+. Bazinyan last fought in January when he stopped Billi Facundo Godoy in the third round to defend his NABF Belt. Phinn last boxed in October when he halted Rafael Sosa Pintos in just 120 seconds.
Bazinyan vs Phinn Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Shakeel Phinn +500
- Erik Bazinyan -800
My Pick
The 28-year-old Bazinyan fights out of Laval, Quebec and enters the ring with a perfect mark of 32-0 with 23 Ko’s. He’s boxed 159 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 following an amateur career in Armenia where he reportedly won 109 of his 110 bouts. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach and carries plenty of power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 71.9 per cent and has stopped 14 of his last 18 opponents.
Since turning pro, Bazinyan has also won the vacant WBO Youth and WBO NABO Super Middleweight titles. His biggest wins so far have been against Godoy, Ronald Ellis, Alantez Fox, Zoltan Sera, Ferenc Albert, David Zegarra, Francy Ntetu, Ricardo Luna, Alan Campa, Saul Roman, Timo Laine, Scott Sigmon, and Marcelo Coceres.
As for Phinn, the 33-year-old fights out of Brossard, Quebec and makes the ring walk with a mark of 26-3-1 with 17 12 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2015 following his amateur career and has boxed 178 rounds since. He also has pretty good power in his arsenal as 65.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. Phinn measures 5-feet-10 inches tall with an unlisted reach, so gives up three inches in height to Bazinyan. Phinn’s first loss came in his second pro fight when he dropped a four-round unanimous decision to Rudy Rene in 2015.
He was beaten by an eight-round majority decision by Ramon Aguinaga in 2017 and by eight-round unanimous decision by Matusz Tryc in 2019. His lone draw was a 10-round affair with Dario Bredicean in 2018 in a shot at the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Title. He won the vacant NABF, and IBF North American Super Middleweight Belts in 2019 when he stopped Elio German Rafael. He also captured the vacant IBO Americas Super Middleweight Crown last May with a 10-round unanimous decision over Ryan Young. Ohinn’s first pro title was the Canadian Super Middleweight belt which he won in 2016 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Paul Bzdel.
Prediction…
Bazinyan has a great record but isn’t really well known outside of Canada as the majority of his fights have been held there and the same goes for Phinn. Bazinyan has looked better recently after going through a spell in which he was far from impressive. He’s stopped his last two opponents after going the distance in three straight fights while Phinn has gone the distance in four of his past six. Bazinyan can’t afford to take Phinn too lightly here and neither can he underestimate his opponent’s power. However, if he utilizes his his power and aggressiveness, I’m expecting Bazinyan to keep his belt in a good test.
Bazinyan’s power and experience against upper-level opponents will help.
Play: Bazinyan -800 @ BetOnline.ag
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Erik Bazinyan betting • Shakeel Phinn betting