Money Line Picks: Maxi Hughes (-450) versus Archie Sharp (+330)
Friday night in Doncaster, England the WBC Silver Lightweight Title is on the line in a boxing match between Maxi Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) and Archie Sharp (25-1, 9 KOs). Hughes has a -450 money line price tag on DraftKings.
You can take a flyer on the fighter with the +330 odds and money line Sharp in the off chance he has the fight of a lifetime, but the better side here looks like Hughes. He’s had much tougher competition and much more impressive wins over the course of his career. He’s currently on a two-fight win streak with Sharp coming off a unanimous decision loss to undefeated Ryan Garner (15-0 at the time) in July of 2024.
Hughes does have seven losses, but all of them were against undefeated or world class opponents. If you think Archie is on that level, he’s still going to need a tremendous effort to beat the favorite here.
Money Line Picks: Willibaldo Garcia Perez (-135) versus Rene Calixto (+105)
There’s a razor-thin gap between the odds of Willibaldo Garcia Perez (-135) and Rene Calixto (+105) going into their Friday night title fight. Garcia Perez is 22-5-2 with 13 knockouts. Calixto is 23-0-1 with 9 knockouts. These fighters are coming into this rematch for the vacant IBF World Super Flyweight title after fighting to a draw on Dec. 21 in Japan. This time the fight is in Mexico.
Both men hail from Mexico and one will be trying to maintain an undefeated record. This is the definition of a 50/50 fight and is close in the odds for a reason. The value on either side is not worth risking too much on.
Calixto is the most attractive money line bet, especially considering the fact that he’s the undefeated guy in this matchup. However, the only guaranteed win is what the fans will experience when this fight goes down. If it’s just as close as last time, either fighter could win, and you should probably just watch it happen and keep your betting money out of it.
Saturday night gives us its own trilogy of interesting wagering opportunities in boxing on the money line:
Money Line Picks: Angelo Leo (-600) versus Tomoki Kameda (+400)
Leo (25-1, 12 KOs) steps into the ring against Kameda (42-4, 23 KOs) to fight for the IBF World Featherweight Title this Saturday night in Osaka, Japan. It is a classic young lion versus old dragon fight here in terms of experience. With the hometown factor adding to the atmosphere, Kameda seems like a bargain at +400 odds.
Kameda avenged an earlier split decision loss with a split decision win over the 20-2 Lerato Dlamini in August of 2024. He’s the hometown hero looking to seal his legacy, and it’s tough to bet against him…until you see what his opponent brings to the table.
Leo is fierce. The only fighter he ever lost to was an 18-0 Stephen Fulton in January of 2021. He’s on an impressive five-fight winning streak since then against top level talent in America. The biggest advantage Kameda might have in this fight is the potential impact of “hometown cooking” that could automatically favor the Japanese fighter in a close match that goes to the scorecards.
Kameda’s experience alone makes this fight seem like a more difficult choice than the odds are reflecting. Leo has the edge in level of recent opposition, though. At this stage of his career, he’s already fought and beat fighters with much better records than the one Kameda brings to this fight. A knockout on either side is not out of the realm of possibility, but a safer bet would be Leo on the money line here.
Money Line Picks: Nathaniel Collins (-200) versus Lee McGregor (+155)
This fight is part of a Glasgow, Scotland-based event with a couple decently-spaced betting lines at the top of the ticket. McGregor (15-1, 11 KOs) tangles with the undefeated Nathaniel Collins (16-0, 7 KOs) here for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title.
Both men have excellent records and superior talent. Collins made his debut in 2018, and looking at his full record it’s easy to see he’s beaten some very promising boxers over almost seven years of competition. It doesn’t mesh with the fact that an 8-26 fighter named Darwing Martinez just took him all eight rounds in his last fight.
Collins won the Martinez fight handily, but that fight broke up a streak of five straight 12-round fights. Now, Collins gets back into the championship round category for a fight with an impressive and aggressive McGregor.
Only four fighters who lost to McGregor made it through the whole fight. The lines are close on this fight for a reason. Four out six of McGregor’s prior fights in Glasgow ended with a knockout win. He’s undefeated in Glasgow. A money line or knockout bet on McGregor makes a whole lot of sense for this fight. Another potential hedger opportunity would be an alternate choice bet of Collins by decision or McGregor by knockout.
Money Line Picks: Josh Taylor (-340) versus Ekow Essuman (+250)
This fight is for the vacant WBO International Welterweight Title. Taylor comes in at 19-2 with 13 knockouts. Essuman has 21 wins and only a Harry Scarff loss. A dominant performance by the 12-2 Scarff in Manchester against Essuman in November of 2023 left Essuman with the only loss of his career spanning nearly a decade.
Taylor’s only two back-to-back losses came against household boxing names Jack Catterall and Teofimo Lopez. Before those two defeats, Taylor beat six undefeated fighters in a row, including Catterall by split decision in their first fight (which was also in Glasgow). Even more impressive is the fact that Taylor has only fought two fighters with losing records in his entire 21-fight career.
Coincidentally, Taylor also has an absolutely electric connection with the Glasgow boxing fans. He’s fought there six times already and won all six fights with three victories by knockout.
Essuman is a live underdog here, but Taylor is a bookie favorite for a reason. He is most likely to make those -340 money line odds of his look like a gift to the betting public. Essuman is certainly a great fighter and capable of a win here, but he is just not on the same talent level as Taylor.
Taylor has that world-beater status. He comes to the ring with decisive wins over legends, and he’s not about to lose three fights in a row. The only question seems to be will Taylor knock Essuman out? It’s been nearly five years since his last knockout win, so stick to the Taylor money line on this one.
