Time/Date: 2145, 29/04/2017
Venue: Wembley
TV: Sky Sports Box Office
Anthony Joshua will be roared on by a huge home support at Wembley on Saturday night, but we fear Wladimir Klitschko can use his incredible experience to spoil the party.
A crowd of 90,000 will be present, but in the ring it will be just the two former Olympic champions doing battle, with Joshua’s IBF world title and the WBA belt Klitschko lost to Tyson Fury on the line.
The Briton is favourite to prevail, but that may be down to weight of money from patriotic punters and 7/4 for his Ukrainian foe to upset the odds is the first of our Joshua vs Klitschko betting tips.
A Look At Anthony Joshua’s Betting Odds
At 27 and 14 years younger than his opponent, Joshua would certainly appear to have age on his side, but even the Watford fighter’s own camp have admitted this bout could be coming too soon in his development.
After some favourable judging helped him secure the gold medal at London 2012, Joshua rattled off 15 quick wins before being fast-tracked into a world title fight against Charles Martin, who just wasn’t at the races when they met.
Two more relatively soft opponents have followed and been smoothly dispatched, but this is a whole different level and comes just four fights after Joshua was clearly hurt when caught by Dillian Whyte in a British title bout.
Klitschko has the skills to finish off Joshua if rocking him in similar fashion and can be backed at 3/1 to win inside the distance.
A Look At Wladimir Klitschko’s Betting Odds
Klitschko turned in a laboured display when Fury outpointed him in Dusseldorf and has since spent 17 months on the sidelines, so it is easy to see why many pundits are predicting he will be well past his best here. Read more about the six flaws we have identified here.
However, the 41-year-old was keen to secure a rematch before Fury was hit by injury and then depression and has no need to chase the financial gains of one more big pay-day, so he obviously feels there is plenty more left in the tank.
With 25 wins in world title fights on his CV, Dr Steelhammer has overcome all types of opponent, will have prepared meticulously for this latest challenge and is well equipped physically to handle Joshua’s come-forward style.
With Joshua’s stamina unproven, odds of 9/1 for Klitschko to claim victory in rounds 7-12 look worth a punt.
Tale of the Tape – record, age, height, reach:
Joshua: 18-0, 27, 6’6″, 82″
Klitschko: 64-4, 41, 6’6″, 81″
