Artur Beterbiev vs Marcus Browne Preview Dec. 14th, 2021
Unbeaten WBC and IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev of Russia will be taking on fellow Marcus Browne of Staten Island, New York this Friday, December 17th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, which is where Beterbiev now resides. The 12-round bout can be seen in America on ESPN+ while it’s on Sky Sports Arena in the UK and pay-per-view in Canada. Beterbiev stopped Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the 10th round in October, 2019 to add the WBC belt to his IBF version and last fought in March when he stopped Adam Deines in the 10th round. Browne last boxed in April when he beat Denis Grachev by 10-round unanimous decision.
Beterbiev vs Browne Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Marcus Browne +700
- Artur Beterbiev -1250
My Pick
Beterbiev won the vacant IBF title in 2017 by stopping Enrico Koelling in the 12th round and has defended it against Callum Johnson, Radivoje Kalajdzic, Gvozdyk and Deines, all by way of stoppage. The 36-year-old is a former world amateur champion and Olympian who turned pro in 2013 and has boxed just 72 rounds since. The reason for this is because he’s knocked out all of his opponents while compiling a perfect record of 16-0 with 16 Kos.
This of course means his knockout ratio currently stands at 100 per cent, but he’s disappointed many fans and critics by shying away from the big guns of the light heavyweight division until meeting Gvozdyk. He took a step backward by taking on Deines but is heading in the right direction as Browne is a worth challenger. Beterbiev’s also beaten the likes of former world champions Gabriel Campillo in 2015 and Tavoris Cloud a year earlier.
Size-wise, Beterbiev isn’t the biggest light heavyweight around as he’s just under 6-feet tall with a reach of 73 inches. He obviously has fine boxing skills that were utilized during his amateur career but since turning pro he hasn’t really had the chance to use them. He’s been on a seek and destroy mission over the past few years and has been very successful at it so far.
Beterbiev also has a pretty solid chin but he’s been on the canvas before as Jeff Page Jr. dropped him in the first round with a right hand back in December, 2014. However he got up and stopped Page the next round after decking him twice. The knock against Beterbiev is that he doesn’t use his jab enough, lacks hand speed and doesn’t move his head much either, which makes him a bit of a sitting duck. But he hasn’t paid for it yet due to his tremendous power.
Browne enters the clash with an impressive mark of 24-1 with 16 Kos. He’s a 31-year-old southpaw who has 113 rounds of experience to his name since making his pro debut in 2012. He’s just over 6-feet-1-inch tall with a wingspan of 75.5 inches which gives him a two-inch height and reach advantage over Beterbiev.
Browne enjoyed a pretty good amateur career as he boxed at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, but was beaten by Damien Hooper on points 13-11 in his first contest of the tournament. He possesses better-than-average power in his fists as his current knockout ratio stands at 64 per cent. He’s been down a few times in his career including in the fifth round against Lenin Castillo in 2018 and three times against Jean Pascal in 2019.
Browne lost to Pascal after eight rounds by technical decision due to a cut in a shot at the vacant WBC Silver, and the WBA interim Light Heavyweight Titles. Browne’s biggest wins have been against Jack, Sean Monaghan, Thomas Williams Jr., Gabriel Campillo, Radivoje Kalajdzic, Cornelius White, Aaron Pryor Jr., George Blades and Otis Griffin. He’s not actually the hardest guy to hit in the ring and that makes him a pretty exciting boxer to watch.
Prediction…
Beterbiev has somewhat limited skills for a former Olympian but makes up for it in power. He hasn’t really been facing the cream of the crop in the 175 lb division other than beating Gvozdyk and to be honest isn’t really the most exciting light heavyweight out there despite his 100 per cent KO record. Browne has the skills to give him some trouble but I’m afraid his chin might not be able to stand up to the champion’s power. I’m expecting Beterbiev to retain his unbeaten record and title belts here.
I think Beterbiev’s power will be too much.
Play: Beterbiev -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.