Pat McCormack and Miguel Parra headline the boxing action on Saturday night so Chris Oliver brings you his verdict.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday August 23
2pts Pat McCormack to win by decision at 21/10 (SkyBet)
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Pat McCormack faces the toughest test of his career to date when he takes on Miguel Parra at the Rainton Meadows Arena on Saturday night, live on DAZN.
It’s over four years since McCormack (7-0) won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 but the talented 30-year-oid has still only boxed seven times as a professional, with injuries hampering his activity.
However, he is still regarded as one of British boxing’s brightest prospects and a big performance this weekend would go a long way to speeding up his ascent towards the higher echelons of the welterweight division.
After a frustrating night when outpointing Williams Andres Herrera over 10 rounds in October, McCormack put in a career-best performance when forcing Robbie Davies Jr’s corner to pull their man out after six one-sided rounds in February. McCormack looked sharp and spiteful that night, as he put his shots together very well and really ‘stuck it on’ Davis Jr.
That was the kind of showing that he needed and it is why he is a best price of 1/9 to register the eighth win of his professional career this weekend. However, Davies Jr had seen much better days and spent pretty much all his career at super lightweight, so was not only over the hill but was also smaller than McCormack.
The favourite faces a different test here as Parra is big and physically strong for the weight. A typical Mexican, he comes to fight and will bring plenty of aggression to the table, unlike Davis Jr who produced a rather passive performance earlier in the year.
Parra’s record of 25-5-1 doesn’t look anything spectacular on paper and he is a top price of 15/2 here, but he still has plenty to offer at 32 and has been in with some good opposition. It is only 14 months since the underdog pushed unbeaten Uzbek Shakhram Giyasov to a split decision in America, and he has won three on the spin since.
The visitor has been stopped twice but his last three defeats have all been on the cards and he dropped both Florian Marku and Anas Messaoudi in his back-to-back decision defeats in 2022/2023. So, McCormack is likely to face some resistance here and things could get interesting if he chooses to meet Parra in the centre of the ring for a tear-up.
That would probably not be a wise move, though, and it is why I prefer the 21/10 about McCormack winning a decision over 10 rounds, as opposed to him getting a stoppage at 4/6.
Yes, McCormack was impressive last time and, given his amateur pedigree, should have too much for Parra, especially as the favourite will have a big advantage in speed. This show is just a few miles down the road from his Washington home and he will have strong backing from the crowd, who will be expecting a stoppage for their man.
McCormack has halted five of his seven opponents so far and while it would be no surprise if he makes that six, he meets a fully-fledged welterweight this time and one that has an awful lot of experience. McCormack’s aforementioned 10-round victory over Herrera was one-sided on the scorecards but that version of McCormack lacked firepower and would struggle to get rid of Parra here.
With Parra bringing plenty of heat and physicality to the party, McCormack may be best served by using his superior boxing skills to navigate this latest test and, for that reason, I think another 10-round decision could be on the cards for the local lad.
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Both of these like to go for the knockout and they carry power, but I expect Marshall to have too much on her return to boxing and the 4/1 about her getting a stoppage looks too big to me.
