Abass Baraou vs Giovani Santillan Preview September 11th, 2026
The vacant WBO Inter-Continental Junior Middleweight title is on the line this Friday, September 11th when Giovani Santillan of San Diego, California tangles with former WBA Beltholder Abass Baraou of Germany. The 10-rounder from Oceanside, California seen live on ProBox TV. Baraou last fought in January when he lost his title via a split decision to Xander Zayas. Baraou won his title in his previous contest when he beat Yoenis Tellez via a comfortable unanimous decision after dropping him in the final round. Santillan last fought in January as well when he beat Courtney Pennington by a 10-round unanimous nod. Santillan is probably best known for his May, 2024 outing when he was stopped in five rounds by Brian Norman Jr in a shot at the interim WBO Welterweight Title, which is the lone loss in his pro career.
Baraou vs Santillan Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Giovani Santillan +284
- Abass Baraou -400
My Pick
The 31-year-old Baraou turned pro in 2018 and has 143 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He stands just under 5-feet-10-inches tall with an unlisted reach which means he is 1.5-inches taller than Santillan. He makes the ring walk with a mark of 17-2 with 9 Ko’s. He isn’t a knockout artist by any means as 52.9 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and six of his past eight fights have gone the distance including his past five straight.
As an amateur, Baraou won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships and a gold at the 2017 European Championships as a welterweight and was a three-time national champion. He won the German Junior Middleweight Title in 2018 in his second pro bout when he beat Denis Krieger by 10-round unanimous decision. Baraou added the vacant WBC International Junior Middleweight Belt in 2019 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Carlos Molina and the vacant IBO Continental Junior Middleweight Crown via a sixth-round TKO over Brian Damian Chaves in 2022.
Baraou then edged Sam Egginton by a 12-round majority decision in 2024 for the vacant European Junior Middleweight Title. He also has wins over Hugo Noriega, Jay Spencer, John O’Donnell and Ali Funeka. His first pro defeat came at the hands of Jack Culcay via a 12-round split decision in 2020. All 19 of Baraou’s pro opponents entered the ring with a winning record with his best performances coming in his last two fights against Yoenis Tellez and Xander Zayas.
As for Santillan, the southpaw is now 34 years old and will climb through the ropes with an impressive record of 35-1 with 18 Ko’s. He’s boxed 197 rounds since turning pro back in 2012. As an amateur, he reached the 2005 National Silver Gloves Final as a youngster. Santillan measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach. He also appears to possess average power as 51.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he has halted two of his last seven opponents.
However, his power was certainly evident against Alexis Rocha in October, 2023 as he dropped him three times in a slugfest before the fight was called off in the sixth round. Santillan won the vacant NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title in 2014 and the WBO NABO Welterweight in 2017. His biggest wins have been over Rocha, Fredrick Lawson Luis Solis, Jose de Jesus Macias, Miguel Angel Mendoza, Sammy Valentin, Dodzi Kemeh, Alejandro Barboza, Antonio DeMarco, Julio Luna Avila and Erick Bone.
Prediction…
Santillan looked very good against Alexis Rocha and displayed a great chin and a ton of power in that fight but then met his match against Norman Jr. He rebounded well with three straight wins against Fredrick Lawson, Angel Villa and Courtney Pennington. Baraou seemed to come out of nowhere with his win against Yoenis Tellez and then came close to upsetting Xander Zayas. I can see this fight going either way to be honest as it’s quite evenly matched. However I’m going to give Baraou the slight edge and that’s more or less based on his last two performances in the ring. He’s also a few years younger than Santillan.
A close call but Baraou is in better form at the moment.
Play: Baraou -400 @ BetOnline.ag
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Abass Baraou betting • Giovani Santillan betting