Kenneth Sims Jr vs Oscar Duarte Preview August 2nd, 2025
There’s a pretty good 10-round junior welterweight tilt on tap this Saturday, August 2nd as Oscar Duarte of Mexico takes on Kenneth Sims Jr. of Chicago, Illinois. The fight from Sims’ hometown can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Duarte last saw action in February when he stopped Miguel Madueno in the seventh round. In his previous outing he beat Botirzhon Akhmedov by a 10-round unanimous decision. Sims last boxed in February when he got a 10-round unanimous nod over Kendo Castaneda and halted Jonathan Romero in the fifth round in his previous contrest.
Sims vs Duarte Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Kenneth Sims Jr +115
- Oscar Duarte -145
My Pick
The 29-year-old Duarte enters the fight with a mark of 29-2-1 with 23 Ko’s and has fought 163 rounds since turning pro as a teenager back in 2013. He has quite a bit of power in his fists as 79.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including 14 of his last 15. He was taken the distance by Botirzhon Akhmedov in November but that was the first time since he lost to Adrian Estrella via a 10-round split decision in 2019 in a shot at the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title.
His second and last defeat came at the hands of Ryan Garcia in December, 2023 when he was stopped in the eighth round. Duarte’s lone draw was a four-round split decision with Roberto Garcia in 2014. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71-inch reach with his best wins coming Akhmedov, Joseph Diaz, Juan Jose Montes, Rey Perez, former world champion Roger Gutierrez, Nestor Armas Hernandez, Humberto de Santiago and Javier Franco. He also stopped Andres Garcia in the fifth round in 2020 to win the vacant NABF Lightweight Title.
The 31-year-old “Bossman” Sims enters the ring with a record of 22-2-1 with 8 Ko’s and has boxed 143 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014. Prior to that he enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won the 2013 USA National Championships and reached the semifinals in 2011 and 2012. He also fought at the 2009 and 2010 USA Junior Nationals, reaching the final four. As a youngster, he fought in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 National Silver Gloves he won it in 2007 and made the semifinals the other two years.
Sims hasn’t really hit the big time as a pro yet as he lost an eight-round majority decision to Rolando Chinea in 2017 then drew over eight rounds with Montana Love in his next outing a year later for the vacant WBC Youth Silver Super Lightweight title. Two fights after that he dropped an eight-round unanimous decision to Samuel Teah. Sims stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and owns a 69-inch reach so is an inch taller than Duarte but gives up two inches in reach.
As far as power goes, Sims is a relatively light hitter as just 36.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s halted three of his past eight opponents. Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant WBC USA Super Lightweight title with an eight-round majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez in 2021 and the WBA Inter-Continental Crown with a fifth-round TKO over Cristian Mino in August, 2022. He’s also beaten the likes of Botirzhon Akhmedov, Gilbert Venegas, Jermaine Corley and Keeshawn Williams.
Prediction…
Duarte has great power but has also been stopped as a pro while Sims has the better overall boxing skills, owns a good chin and is fighting at home. This is a fight which could go either way but I’m giving the slight edge to Duarte as Sims doesn’t really have the power to keep him off of him for 12 rounds.
Duarte possesses more power in his punches.
Play: Duarte -145 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kenneth Sims Jr betting • Oscar Duarte betting