Bivol to Bulldoze Zinad, Retain Light Heavyweight Belts
Bivol vs Zinad Boxing Odds
Dmitry Bivol is the supreme force in the light heavyweight division, and he’s at short odds to defend his WBA and IBO belts on Saturday.
Bivol vs Zinad boxing odds have him at -5000 to retain his unbeaten record, but Maliz Zinad is also unbeaten at 22-0.
It’s one of the biggest fights on this week’s boxing schedule, and it should live up to expectations.
Just Another Opponent for Bivol
The 33-year-old Russian has fought much better opponents than Zinad, so we’re not surprised by the short Bivol vs Zinad boxing odds.
He comes off a win over Lyndon Arthur with a comfortable 120-107 points victory, but his best recent came when beating Gilberto Ramirez.
Ramirez was 44-0 at the time of his defeat, and Bivol made him look second-rate with a comfortable points victory.
There isn’t much Bivol hasn’t achieved in the light heavyweight division, and although only 11 of his wins have come by knockout, he doesn’t need power to beat his opponents.
He’s smart, and when you have a victory over Canelo on your record, you’re doing something right. He is only one of two fighters to hand the Mexican a loss when winning 115-113 across the board in 2022.
Therefore, an opponent like Zinad shouldn’t trouble the -5000 favorite. His schedule of boxing has been far superior, and he was meant to fight Artur Beterbiev, which would have been a title unification bout.
“They asked me about Zinad. He just won a fight and became second in the IBF. They said, ‘Do you want to fight with him?’ ‘If possible to make this fight, I will be happy,’” Bivol said.
“We didn’t have a lot of options. They asked about Zinad, and I said, ‘I’m ready.”
Does Zinad Stand a Chance?
30-year-old Libyan Zinad has yet to suffer a defeat, but we can’t see that lasting much longer.
Good on him for stepping up to the challenge as the second seed with IBF rankings, but he could be biting off more than he can chew.
He scored a majority decision victory over Jerome Pampellone in Sydney, but most of his fights have come against lower-level fighters.
Zinad is a +1200 underdog with Bivol vs Zinad boxing odds for a reason, and this is his hardest fight by a big margin.
He’s fighting the champion, and someone with a win over Canelo Alvarez on his record, so the task should be daunting.
Fighting in Saudi Arabia won’t help his chances either. He has yet to fight in Riyadh, and the atmosphere could be too much for him.
His boxing results, albeit impressive for a rising boxer, don’t stack up well. His only asset is his knockout power, including 16 wins by knockout.
However, he hasn’t won by knockout since fighting Almir Skrijeli in a fight that didn’t carry a star ranking. Not being able to knock out a 22-10-2 fighter in his subsequent fight isn’t a good look.
Random knockouts can happen in boxing, but we struggle to see how he’ll get close enough to Bivol to test the champion.
One-Way Traffic for Bivol
It’s all about business for Bivol, who is eyeing much better opponents later this year.
He was disappointed when Beterbiev was forced to withdraw due to injury, but he can’t underrate Zinad. He knows he still needs to fight a good fight to get his hand raised.
It doesn’t get any shorter than -5000, so we’re looking for more value. The current total rounds line is 10.5, and the over has been backed into -150.
However, we expect Bivol to force Zinad to quit for a TKO win. Bivol will hammer Zinad to the body and that’s enough to see the challenger crumble.
Getting +120 for under 10.5 rounds is the best value for the light heavyweight title fight, and Zinad won’t know what hit him.
There is a clear class advantage to the champion, and backing against him is a big mistake.
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