All You Need to Know About 2019 World Boxing Super Series Finals

Organized by Comosa AG, the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is the first major professional boxing tournament since the Super Six World Boxing Classic was canceled in 2011. And such, the WBSS is considered one of the most prestigious competitions in the boxing universe.

There are currently three weight divisions in the WBSS – bantamweight, super lightweight, and cruiserweight. The winner of each class gets a trophy named after the boxing legend Muhammad Ali, as well as a cash prize of $10M.

The world champions in all four major sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF) are eligible to take part in the tournament, together with 15 additional top-ranked boxers. Each division has eight participants, who fight in single-elimination matches, starting with the quarter-finals. The 2018/2019 season started last October and is going to reach its climax this summer when we’ll see the finals of all three division.

Bantamweight Division Final

The bantamweight is the boxing weight class in which a boxer can have a minimum of 115 pounds (52.2 kilos) and a maximum of 118 pounds (53.5 kilos) of body weight. The WBSS bantamweight season started in October 2018, with eight top-rated fighters entered into the tournament having no previous defeats.

The highest-rated boxer in the division was South African fighter Zolani Tete who defeated Russian Mikhail Aloyan in the quarter-final on points. He was supposed to fight Nonito Donaire from the Philippines in the semi-final but had to withdraw from the competition due to an injury and was replaced by Stephon Young.

Young was knocked-out by the Philippine boxer, who got himself to the final where he’ll meet Naoya Inoue. The Japanese finalist got there after finishing both of his previous fights with a knock-out. First, he KO’d Juan Carlos Payano from the Dominican Republic in the first round of the quarter-final. In the semi-final, it took one round more for Inoue to find a way to knock-out Puerto Rican boxer Emmanuel Rodríguez.

According to sportsbooks, Inoue is likely to do a hat-trick of knock-outs. If you take a look at futures bets at some of the sportsbooks listed on VegasOdds.com, you’ll see that the Japanese boxer is a huge favorite in this match. The current odds on him winning the trophy stand at -10,000. To spice it up, maybe it would be wise to bet on a knock-out as the method of victory in the final?

Super Lightweight Division

The super lightweight or light welterweight, as it’s often called, is a weight division for boxers between 135lbs (61.2 kilos) and 140lbs (63.5 kilos). The division featured eight fighters at the start of the season, including the former WBA champion of the world Kiryl Relikh, WBC Interim Champion Regis Prograis, and WBC Silver Champion Josh Taylor. In addition, two IBF Mandatories were also in the division, namely Ivan Baranchyk and Anthony Yigit.

The four biggest favorites won their fights in the quarter-final, so the two semis were: Prograis vs. Relikh and Taylor vs Baranchyk. The first semi-final ended in favor of the US fighter. Prograis was awarded a technical knock-out victory over the Belarus boxer in the sixth round. In the second semi-final, another boxer from Belarus got defeated. UK’s Josh Taylor won against Ivan Baranchyk on points after 12 rounds in the ring.

The big final of the super lightweight division of the World Boxing Super Series is going to take place this summer and it seems the match is going to be a close one. Regis Prograis is the favorite in the bookies’ eyes, but not a big one. The odds on him lifting the trophy are currently -167, while Josh Taylor is getting the odds of +140.

Cruiserweight Division Final

Cruiserweight a.k.a. junior heavyweight is a weight class for boxers up to 200 pounds (90.7 kilos) of body weight. Eight top-rated cruiserweight boxers entered the tournament, each without a defeat before the start of the competition. The quarter-finals happened in October and November 2018 and four boxers suffered their first career defeats.

German boxer Noel Gevor lost to Latvian Mairis Breidis, Maxim Vlasov from Russia got defeated by Polish fighter Krzystof Glowacki, the other Polish cruiserweight participant Mateusz Masternak lost to Cuban Yunier Dorticos, while in the last quarter-final, US boxer Andrew Tabiti won against Ruslan Fayfer from Russia.

The semi-finals of the Cruiserweight Division have not yet taken place. They’re scheduled for mid-June and the location for the fights is Latvia. In these matches, we’ll see Dorticos pitted against Tabiti, as well as Briedis fighting Glowacki.

Although we’re still at the stage of the semis, some sportsbooks do allow betting on the division winner. The biggest favorite at the moment is Mairis Briedis. The odds on the Latvian boxer lifting the trophy in front his own crowd are currently +125. Obviously, he’s also the favorite of winning in the semi-final, while in the other semi, the books are giving advantage to Yunier Dorticos.

Where to Bet on the WBSS Matches?

It’s true that boxing isn’t the most popular sport among American bettors. That title is shared by football and baseball. Still, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any US books that have boxing in their offer. You can easily find many such sportsbooks, the only problem is that the odds they offer might not be too attractive.

This is the reason why many people who want to bet on boxing events decide to look for offshore sportsbooks. Unfortunately, there’s always some risk involved when dealing with books that aren’t licensed in the US, which is why caution is advised.

Instead of rushing to wager money at offshore books that offer the most attractive odds on boxing matches, it’s best to do a little bit of research first. Finding trusted boxing odds and sportsbooks is paramount. Luckily for you, there are plenty of such books out there and you can be certain they’re going to give you some fine odds for the upcoming WBSS fights.