How to bet Friday's Stevenson-Williams PBC main event
Johnny WildsSpecial to ESPN.com
ESPN INSIDER
WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis "Superman" Stevenson (27-1, 22 KOs) defends his title Friday night against No. 8 WBC contender Thomas Williams Jr. (20-1, 14 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV, from the Centre Videotron, in Quebec City, Canada at 9 p.m. ET.
Adam Pullen, senior trader at William Hill US., opened the fight with Stevenson <offer style="box-sizing: border-box;">-500 and Williams +400. Pullen got bet up to the current line of -600/+450, but he hasn't seen a ton of action yet. Overseas, Stevenson is listed at -700, with Williams at +400.
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Stevenson, who turns 39 in September, hasn't fought in nearly 10 months; in his last fight, he stopped fringe contender Tommy Karpency via third-round KO. Stevenson holds an impressive 79 percent KO average, and the lone loss of his career came at the hands of Darnell Boone via second-round TKO in 2010. Stevenson holds wins over Chad Dawson (in 2013, by a devastating KO at the 1:16 mark of Round 1), Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellew and Andrzej Fonfara, and Stevenson also won the rematch against Boone in 2013 to avenge his only loss. Stevenson holds the lineal light heavyweight title, and this will be his seventh defense.
Williams, 28, hails from Fort Washington, Maryland. He turned pro in 2010 and enters the ring with an impressive record of 20-1 with 14 KOs, with his lone loss coming against Gabriel Campillo, when Williams retired at the end of Round 5 in what was an otherwise decent fight. His resume isn't filled with many top fighters, but his best win thus far was a first-round KO over Cornelius White in 2014. Williams enters the ring with a 2-inch height advantage, standing 6-foot-1, but he will have a 5-inch disadvantage in reach.
The co-feature pits WBC silver light heavyweight champion and WBC No. 1-ranked contender Eleider Alvarez (19-0, 10 KOs) against New Zealand native Robert Berridge (27-4-1). Alvarez was hoping to face Chad Dawson on this card, but an injury forced Dawson to withdraw. The champion cannot afford any hiccups here, because if he wins he's slated to face Stevenson (assuming Stevenson also wins in the main event).
Alvarez, who represented Columbia in the 2008 Olympics and now fights out of Montreal, won his last fight by narrowly escaping with a majority decision over Isaac Chilemba in November 2015. Alvarez won the WBC silver light heavyweight title in 2014 over Ryno Liebenberg, and this will be the champ's fourth defense. Across the ring is Berridge, who already has four losses and has never really beaten a top-ranked fighter. His biggest fight thus far was against Thomas Oosthuizen; Berridge lost a unanimous decision in 2015. He is taking this fight on short notice, and it will take place at a catchweight of 180 pounds. There are no odds posted on this fight.
I think the Stevenson fight is going to be much tougher than the odds suggest. Williams is no slouch and he can fight, so it will come down to what type of shape Stevenson is in; watch the weigh-in Thursday to be sure.
The pick: Lean Williams, provided he's +450 or higher
Johnny WildsSpecial to ESPN.com
ESPN INSIDER
WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis "Superman" Stevenson (27-1, 22 KOs) defends his title Friday night against No. 8 WBC contender Thomas Williams Jr. (20-1, 14 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV, from the Centre Videotron, in Quebec City, Canada at 9 p.m. ET.
Adam Pullen, senior trader at William Hill US., opened the fight with Stevenson <offer style="box-sizing: border-box;">-500 and Williams +400. Pullen got bet up to the current line of -600/+450, but he hasn't seen a ton of action yet. Overseas, Stevenson is listed at -700, with Williams at +400.
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Stevenson, who turns 39 in September, hasn't fought in nearly 10 months; in his last fight, he stopped fringe contender Tommy Karpency via third-round KO. Stevenson holds an impressive 79 percent KO average, and the lone loss of his career came at the hands of Darnell Boone via second-round TKO in 2010. Stevenson holds wins over Chad Dawson (in 2013, by a devastating KO at the 1:16 mark of Round 1), Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellew and Andrzej Fonfara, and Stevenson also won the rematch against Boone in 2013 to avenge his only loss. Stevenson holds the lineal light heavyweight title, and this will be his seventh defense.
Williams, 28, hails from Fort Washington, Maryland. He turned pro in 2010 and enters the ring with an impressive record of 20-1 with 14 KOs, with his lone loss coming against Gabriel Campillo, when Williams retired at the end of Round 5 in what was an otherwise decent fight. His resume isn't filled with many top fighters, but his best win thus far was a first-round KO over Cornelius White in 2014. Williams enters the ring with a 2-inch height advantage, standing 6-foot-1, but he will have a 5-inch disadvantage in reach.
The co-feature pits WBC silver light heavyweight champion and WBC No. 1-ranked contender Eleider Alvarez (19-0, 10 KOs) against New Zealand native Robert Berridge (27-4-1). Alvarez was hoping to face Chad Dawson on this card, but an injury forced Dawson to withdraw. The champion cannot afford any hiccups here, because if he wins he's slated to face Stevenson (assuming Stevenson also wins in the main event).
Alvarez, who represented Columbia in the 2008 Olympics and now fights out of Montreal, won his last fight by narrowly escaping with a majority decision over Isaac Chilemba in November 2015. Alvarez won the WBC silver light heavyweight title in 2014 over Ryno Liebenberg, and this will be the champ's fourth defense. Across the ring is Berridge, who already has four losses and has never really beaten a top-ranked fighter. His biggest fight thus far was against Thomas Oosthuizen; Berridge lost a unanimous decision in 2015. He is taking this fight on short notice, and it will take place at a catchweight of 180 pounds. There are no odds posted on this fight.
I think the Stevenson fight is going to be much tougher than the odds suggest. Williams is no slouch and he can fight, so it will come down to what type of shape Stevenson is in; watch the weigh-in Thursday to be sure.
The pick: Lean Williams, provided he's +450 or higher
