Rory Jiwani has two selections against the favourite in the men's flyweight boxing, which gets under way in the early hours of Monday morning.
Tokyo 2020 betting tips: Boxing
2pts Billal Bennama to win men’s flyweight at 9/1 (William Hill)
1pt Rodrigo Marte to win men’s flyweight 40/1 at Mansionbet (bet365)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
The men’s flyweight boxing gets under way first thing Monday morning and I am desperate to take on reigning Olympic champion and favourite Shakhobidin Zoirov. The Uzbek was well beaten in the Asian Olympic qualifier semis by young Thai boxer Thitisan Panmod, who sadly misses Tokyo due to a torn ACL (he’s still quoted by most bookies so avoid), and by unheralded Indian Deepak Kumar at the Strandja Tournament in Sofia in February.
Zoirov is also the defending world champion after beating BILLAL BENNAMA in the semi-finals. When I say ‘beating’, I actually mean having his ears boxed off for long periods and still somehow winning on a unanimous decision. You can watch it for yourself on YouTube - how four of the judges gave Zoirov every round is totally beyond me.
Anyway, Bennama won the Europe qualifier, when Britain’s Galal Yafai was harshly disqualified for a headbutt as the Frenchman was just getting on top, and is an excellent boxer although he does tend to get cut around the eyes which is a bit of a problem. But at 9/1 with William Hill, we can take a chance.
The second favourite is Cuba’s Yosvany Veitia who hasn’t done much to justify his odds given that he was beaten by Yafai at the last Worlds, and defeated by RODRIGO MARTE of the Dominican Republic in the final of the Pan American Games the same year. Marte went out to Zoirov at the last Worlds.
Veitia is anywhere between 2/1 and 5/1 with the bookies I’ve seen while Marte is as big as 40/1 with bet365 and 33/1 with Hills. On price alone, he’s worth a punt.
Posted at 1915 BST on 24/07/21
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