Should Michael Jennings really be 13/8 to outpoint Brett James tonight? Both are 'movers' rather than 'bangers' and with home advantage I can well see James lasting the full 10. For a man who is 1/12 to win the fight I reckon the bookies have got this plain wrong about Jennings. Brian Hughes won't have Michael steaming in here and I fancy this one to be a bit of a lop-sided points win for the chap from Chorley. Your thoughts?
PS - price s with Bluesq by the way.
Jennings - James betting tonight
Chorley's unbeaten Michael Jennings headlines a Fight Skool promotion at York Hall tonight when he defends his spurious WBU international title against Londoner Brett James, the reigning Southern Area welterweight champion.
Jennings was to have met James on local turf at the MEN Arena on Saturday, but the proposed original main event at York hall - an English lightweight title encounter between Danny Hunt and Steve Murray, failed to materialise, so the fight was brought forward.
Jennings remains unpeturbed at conceding home advantage to his opponent.
"Watch out Brett, I'm coming down to London to knock you out!" he warned in the build-up. "I feel I've really improved in my last few fights and the power is coming through as well.
"Brett will come to have a real fight, but that will play into my hands."
Jennings scored his biggest win so far in September when he forced a retirement stoppage of Bracknell's Sammy Smith.
Smith, pulled out by his corner at the end of the fourth round, had taken James the full 10 rounds just a month earlier in an action-packed clash for the vacant Southern Area welterweight title (conceding referee Larry O'Connell's decision by 97-94).
It gives big ticket-seller Jennings a real edge on paper. He bossed Smith from the start in his first defence of the WBU international title he had won with another retirement stoppage of Wolverhampton's Jimmy Gould last May (six rounds) - and floored him twice.
It was a fifth straight stoppage win for 26-year-old Jennings, though Pontefract hardman Peter "Desperate" Dunn took him the full six rounds in his one fight since in December. Jennings is now unbeaten in 21 outings.
His opponent James brings a solid record to the table himself, with just one loss in 17 fights. Current Southern Area light-middleweight champion and former European title challenger David Walker stopped him in four rounds in 2002, and the cagey Birmingham veteran Karl Taylor twice held him to a draw. Otherwise it's been success all the way for the Canning Town man, who seems to be fighting better than ever at 28. He floored Smith en route to the Southern Area title last year, and defended with another 10-round decision over Watford's Ian Eldridge in November.
He got in a tune-up with Richard Inquieti in February, who he outpointed in a four-rounder.
But Jennings - as well as that more emphatic win over comparitive opponent Smith, stopped Karl Taylor in four rounds - who twice drew with James, as we know. (The ending came on a nasty cut under the right eye, but Jennings had dominated Taylor).
He also stopped Inquieti in two rounds, who took James the distance in the Londoner's very last fight.
Clearly, he seems to have the edge in power, though has never been past six rounds going into this scheduled 12-rounder, whereas James went 10 hard rounds with Smith and Eldridge okay.
It's a decent match all round.
Jennings was to have met James on local turf at the MEN Arena on Saturday, but the proposed original main event at York hall - an English lightweight title encounter between Danny Hunt and Steve Murray, failed to materialise, so the fight was brought forward.
Jennings remains unpeturbed at conceding home advantage to his opponent.
"Watch out Brett, I'm coming down to London to knock you out!" he warned in the build-up. "I feel I've really improved in my last few fights and the power is coming through as well.
"Brett will come to have a real fight, but that will play into my hands."
Jennings scored his biggest win so far in September when he forced a retirement stoppage of Bracknell's Sammy Smith.
Smith, pulled out by his corner at the end of the fourth round, had taken James the full 10 rounds just a month earlier in an action-packed clash for the vacant Southern Area welterweight title (conceding referee Larry O'Connell's decision by 97-94).
It gives big ticket-seller Jennings a real edge on paper. He bossed Smith from the start in his first defence of the WBU international title he had won with another retirement stoppage of Wolverhampton's Jimmy Gould last May (six rounds) - and floored him twice.
It was a fifth straight stoppage win for 26-year-old Jennings, though Pontefract hardman Peter "Desperate" Dunn took him the full six rounds in his one fight since in December. Jennings is now unbeaten in 21 outings.
His opponent James brings a solid record to the table himself, with just one loss in 17 fights. Current Southern Area light-middleweight champion and former European title challenger David Walker stopped him in four rounds in 2002, and the cagey Birmingham veteran Karl Taylor twice held him to a draw. Otherwise it's been success all the way for the Canning Town man, who seems to be fighting better than ever at 28. He floored Smith en route to the Southern Area title last year, and defended with another 10-round decision over Watford's Ian Eldridge in November.
He got in a tune-up with Richard Inquieti in February, who he outpointed in a four-rounder.
But Jennings - as well as that more emphatic win over comparitive opponent Smith, stopped Karl Taylor in four rounds - who twice drew with James, as we know. (The ending came on a nasty cut under the right eye, but Jennings had dominated Taylor).
He also stopped Inquieti in two rounds, who took James the distance in the Londoner's very last fight.
Clearly, he seems to have the edge in power, though has never been past six rounds going into this scheduled 12-rounder, whereas James went 10 hard rounds with Smith and Eldridge okay.
It's a decent match all round.