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Dmitry Bivol vs Lenin Castillo Odds & Picks

Dylan Bowker

by Dylan Bowker in Boxing

Updated Apr 14, 2020 · 11:34 AM PDT

Bivol vs Castillo
Dmitry Bivol is a huge -3500 favorite over Lenin Castillo this Saturday. Photo by @MatchroomBoxing (Twitter).
  • Bivol vs Castillo goes Saturday, October 12th at 10:00 pm EST
  • Can Bivol score a statement win and defend his hardware once more?
  • Can Castillo shake up the hierarchy of the light-heavyweight division in a big way?

Bivol vs Castillo is a twelve round contest that goes at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday. The WBA light-heavyweight world title is up for grabs with Bivol looking to defend the belt once again. This Saturday looks to be a fun night for the sweet science.

Matchroom Boxing puts on this card that will be broadcast on DAZN. There are a few title fights that bolster this card but Bivol vs Castillo is of the most significance. The Chicago market has a lot of Kyrgyzstan, Russian and Ukrainian fans. Who will no doubt make their voices heard for Bivol, the resident of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The odds for this prizefight and my bout breakdown can be found below.

Bivol vs Castillo Odds

Fighter Odds
Dmitry Bivol -3500
Lenin Castillo +1200

Odds taken 10/09/19.

Bivol is looking to notch his sixth successful title defense. Castillo is the reigning WBO Latino light-heavyweight champion and made his first successful defense in his last fight. Castillo has certainly seen his share of gold belts in his day but this bout is on a different level altogether.

Bivol is trapped in a  familiar spot that modern boxing world champions are faced with. There’s a desire to face other champions and unify your division but business-minded focuses get in the way of making those fights.

Bivol is staying busy by fighting a legit tough, crafty pugilist which is commendable. That being said, I see Bivol capturing a victory here with style points.

Bivol Keeps a Grasp on the Gold

Castillo considers Bivol to be top 20 pound for pound in the world but he’s confident he can usurp his spot. Bivol is one of the top-ranked 175 lb-ers in the sport. So a Castillo win would really shake things up profoundly. Bivol also has a record filled with solid opposition.

It’s not like some boxing fights where you see a champion fight a challenger who just busted up a few warm bodies on local club shows. Considering the surrounding divisional landscape though and the potential fights Bivol could be in, pundits and fans alike are understandably lukewarm on this Bivol vs Castillo bout.

Bivol has a respectable KO rate but has also shown he can sustain himself over a full twelve rounds. To have both things working in your favour shows versatility and indicates the mark of a well-rounded champion. Despite being a fighting champ for these last couple of years, it has proven difficult for Bivol to break through into getting mainstream notoriety.

You would think an unbeaten, exciting world champion would be getting attention but it illustrates how there’s no proven formula for creating box office stars in boxing. One can only hope that Bivol secures a highlight reel KO and it somehow jettisons him into a position where he can get these big-money fights with fellow champions.

Bivol vs Castillo Tale of the Tape

Bivol
VS
Castillo
16-0 Record 20-2-1
11 Knockouts 15
6’0 Height 6’2
N/A Reach 76″
Joe Smith Jr, Jean Pascal,
Isaac Chilemba
Significant Wins Aaron Mitchell, Andy Perez,
Reinaldo Gonzalez
orthodox Stance orthodox

It’s not a wild leap to imagine the #3 ranked, per BoxRec, light-heavyweight beats the #105 ranked competitor. The question becomes how does he do it and when does it transpire? I think Bivol hands Castillo his first stoppage loss. Based on Bivol’s track record, I see him securing a TKO inside of six rounds.

Pick: Bivol (-3500)

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