Jamel Herring vs Lamont Roach Jr. Preview Nov. 9th
WBO Jr. Lightweight Champion Jamel Herring of Coram, New York will be defending his crown against unbeaten Lamont Roach Jr of Washington D.C. in Fresno, California this Saturday, November 9th. Herring, a southpaw and former 2012 American Olympian and U.S. Marine won the title from Masayuki Ito via unanimous decision in his last outing in May. Roach last saw action in May as well when he beat Jonathan Oquendo by 10-round unanimous decision to retain his WBO International title and win the WBO NABO Jr. Lightweight Belt. The fight can be seen in America on ESPN+.
Herring vs Roach Jr. Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Lamont Roach +250
- Jamel Herring -320
My Pick
The 34-year-old Herring enters the ring with a fine record of 20-2 with 10 Kos. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 70 inches. Herring turned pro back in 2012 at the age of 27 and has 126 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He served two tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines and has average power with a current knockout ratio of 45.5 per cent. He boxed for the Americans at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, but was beaten in the first round of bouts.
Herring’s first pro loss came at the hands of Denis Shafikov by 10th-round TKO in July of 2016. He then lost two bouts later to Ladarius Miller via an eight-round unanimous decision in August of 2017. Herring has been stopped once and dropped before, but has a pretty sturdy chin. He won the vacant USBA Super Featherweight Crown in September of last year with a 10-round unanimous decision over John Vincent Moralde. His biggest wins have been over Ito, Hector Velazquez, Luis Eduardo Florez and Art Hovhannisyan.
Roach Jr. is just 24 years old and has a close-to-perfect record of 19-0-1 with 7 Kos. He’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68-inch reach which means he gives up three inches in height and two inches in reach to Herring. He’s not a power puncher or KO artist by any means with a current knockout ratio of 35 per cent. He turned pro in 2014 and has boxed 113 rounds since. Roach has been boxing since he was nine years old and had a fine amateur career with more than 100 victories.
He was named the most outstanding American boxer in 2013 by USA Boxing when he won the National Golden Gloves Title in the 132 lb division. He’s also a five-time Ringside World Champion, the 2011 National PAL Champion and a two-time Junior National Golden Gloves Champion. Since turning pro his best wins have been against Oquendo, Alberto Mercado, Rey Perez, Luis Hinojosa and Alejandro Valdez. He also captured the vacant WBC Youth Silver Super Featherweight Crown with the win over Valdez. His lone draw was a 10-round affair with Orlando Cruz in April of 2018.
Prediction…
Roach has long been an excellent prospect who was expected to one day win a world title and now’s an excellent time to do so. Herring’s a fine boxer who has surprised a lot of people as a pro with his skills, hard work and dedication. On the down side, he’s 10 years older than Roach. Herring is quite underrated and Roach will have to be at his best to beat him but I think the challenger will do just enough to lift his title Saturday night.
I think the 10 year age advantage and Roach’s skills will be the difference in a close fight.
Play: Roach Jr. +250@ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jamel Herring betting • Lamont Roach Jr. betting