Angelo Leo vs Mike Plania Preview Jan. 31St, 2024
There’s a good 10-round featherweight fight on tap this Wednesday, January 31st as Angelo Leo of Albuquerque, New Mexico takes on Mike Plania of the Philippines. The contest takes place in Plant City, Florida and can be seen live on ProBox TV and on You Tube. In addition, fans in Canada can catch it on Sportsnet World. Leo last saw action in November when he stopped Nicolas Polanco in the ninth round while Plania halted Daniel Nicolas in just 71 seconds in his last bout in December.
Leo vs Plania Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mike Plania +325
- Angelo Leo -450
My Pick
Leo, who fights out of Las Vegas, is a 29-year-old who climbs into the ring with an impressive mark of 22-1 with 10 Ko’s. He’s not a big hitter but still has a respectable knockout percentage of 45.5 per cent and has gone the distance in seven of his last nine outings. He made his pro debut in 2012 after a pretty good amateur career and has boxed 142 rounds since. As a youngster he fought in several national Golden Gloves tournaments. Leo stands 5-feet-6-inches tall and has a 69-inch reach.
Leo started his pro career rather slowly with just two of his first 10 opponents having winning records. Since then, he’s beaten the likes of Basilio Nieves, Jonathan Aguilar, Glenn Poras, Erik Ruiz and Mark John Yap. He also stopped Cesar Juarez in the 11th round in December, 2019 to capture the vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Crown. Leo was then matched with Tramaine Williams for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight Title and took it by a unanimous decision.
Leo was supposed to have met Stephen Fulton for the vacant belt after Emanuel Navarette vacated it and moved up in weight to featherweight. However Fulton had to pull out of the August, 2020 fight due to a positive Covid 19 test and was replaced by Williams. Leo then met Fulton in his first defence in January, 2021 and dropped a wide unanimous decision He’s fought just just twice since then with a 10-round majority decision over Aaron Alameda and his ninth-round stoppage of Nicolas Polanco last November in his first fight in two-and-a-half years.
The 26-year-old Plania climbs through the ropes with a mark of 29-3 with 16 Ko’s and has boxed 155 rounds since making his pro debut back in 2014. Before that he enjoyed a pretty good amateur career which saw him capture a gold medal in the junior division at the 2013 PLDT-ABAP National Boxing Championships in the Philippines and a gold at the 2013 Philippine National Games. He also represented his homeland in 2013 at the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Ukraine.
Since turning pro, Plania won the vacant WBF International Bantamweight Title in 2016, the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Super Bantamweight Crown and the vacant IBF North American Super Bantamweight Title. His first defeat came at the hands of of Juan Carlos Payano by 10-round unanimous decision in 2018 in a shot at the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight Title despite dropping him in the third round.
The second other loss on Plania’s record came to Ra’eese Aleem by a wide 10-round unanimous decision in October, 2022 in a shot at the WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Crown and he was stopped by Elijah Pierce last August in the third round. His biggest wins have been against Joshua Greer Jr, Ricardo Nunez, Giovanni Gutierrez, Mark Anthony Geraldo and Juan Antonio Lopez. Plania measures just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach to give up a half-inch in height and 3.5-inches in reach to Leo. Plania possesses a little more power than Leo as 55.2 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage including his last four.
Prediction…
Leo and Plania are both good boxers with Plania more known for his power and Leo for his volume punching. Leo has a solid chin and that will come in handy against Plania as it’s going to be tested. However I’m expecting Leo to outwork Plania over the 10 rounds and to either stop him late or come out with a close decision in an entertaining battle.
A close call but Leo has slightly better skills and a solid chin.
Play: Leo -450 @ BetOnline.ag
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Angelo Leo betting • Mike Plania betting