Leo Santa Cruz vs Chris Avalos Preview Oct. 14th
WBA Super World Featherweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz of Mexico will be defending his title against Chris Avalos of Lancaster, California at the StubHub Center In Carson, California this Saturday, October 14th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Santa Cruz last fought in January when he regained his title with a majority decision over Carl Frampton in their rematch after losing it to him six months earlier by majority decision. Avalos was last in the ring in July when he stopped Miguel Flores after the fifth round due to a cut eye.
Santa Cruz vs Avalos Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Chris Avalos +2500
- Leo Santa Cruz -6000
My Pick
The 29-year-old Santa Cruz, who fights out of the Los Angeles area, has an impressive record of 33-1-1 along with 18 Kos. He’s already won world bantamweight and junior featherweight titles, but decided to move up in weight and captured the vacant WBA featherweight belt when he beat Mares by majority decision. Santa Cruz stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 69 inches. He has a 51 per cent knockout ratio and has fought 216 rounds since turning pro in 2006. His biggest wins have been against Frampton, Kiko Martinez, Mares, Cristian Mijares, Victor Terrazas and Eric Morel.
Santa Cruz’s lone draw was a four-round affair against Rodrigo Hernandez in 2007 in his second pro bout. Santa Cruz is quite an exciting boxer as he tends to throw punches in bunches and isn’t averse to going toe-to-toe with his opponents. He also has a good chin to go along with his boxing skills and will likely fight his normal style against Avalos. He’s hoping to meet Mares in a rematch and is basically using this bout as a tuneup for that contest. There’s not really much else to say about Santa Cruz other than he’s usually won most of his fights due to his relentless punching.
The 27-year-old Avalos enters the contest with a record of 27-5 with 20 Kos. His chin is questionable though since he’s been stopped three times in his five losses. He’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68-inch reach which means he’s the same height as Santa Cruz, but has a minimal one-inch reach disadvantage. Avalos turned pro back in 2008 and has boxed 156 rounds since then. His power is pretty good as he’s got a current knockout ratio of 63 per cent. His biggest wins have been against Flores, Yasutaka Ishimoto and Jose Nieves.
Avalos has been beaten by Christopher Martin and Jhonaton Romero by 10-round split decision, Carl Frampton and Oscar Valdez by fifth-round TKO, and Mark Magsayo by sixth-round stoppage. He’s also lost three of his last five fights. Avalos will have a puncher’s chance against Santa Cruz, but it’s not that big of a shot since the champ has such a good chin. Avalos has struggled when stepping up in class in the past and there’s no reason to believe things will change now.
Prediction…
As long as Santa Cruz throws his usual volume of punches and his chin hasn’t suddenly disappeared or weakened since January then it’s hard to imagine him losing to Avalos.
As the odds show, this is a bit of a mismatch.
Play: Santa Cruz -6000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Chris Avalos betting • Leo Santa Cruz betting