Joshua Buatsi vs Ricards Bolotniks Odds and Pick
- Joshua Buatsi vs Ricards Bolotniks goes Saturday, August 14th at 2 PM EST
- Who will hoist WBA international hardware over their head this weekend?
- Check out the fight odds, analysis, and predictions below
Joshua Buatsi vs Ricards Bolotniks emanates from Matchroom HQ Garden in Brentwood, Essex, England on Saturday night and will be broadcast on DAZN.
The WBA International light heavyweight championship will be contested with Buatsi and Bolotniks positioned as champion and challenger, respectively, here.
Joshua Buatsi vs Ricards Bolotniks Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Joshua Buatsi | -1000 |
| Ricards Bolotniks | +600 |
Odds as of August 12th at DraftKings
This bout between high-caliber 175 pounders tops the marquee for the final week of Matchroom Fight Camp.
Buatsi vs Bolotniks Recent Fights
| Daniel Blenda Dos Santos, win via TKO | Fight 1 | Serge Michel, win via TKO |
| Marko Calic, win via TKO | Fight 2 | Hosea Burton, win via unanimous decision |
| Ryan Ford, win via KO | Fight 3 | Steven Ward, win via TKO |
| Marco Antonio Periban, win via TKO | Fight 4 | Sergei Ekimov, win via unanimous decision |
Joshua Buatsi’s Championship Pedigree
Joshua Buatsi was a 2016 Olympian and garnered a silver medal in his pursuit. He has a spotless professional record so far.
Buatsi has held this WBA hardware for over three years now and aims to notch his seventh successful title defense this weekend.
Buatsi has only had a pair of prizefights go the distance. The undefeated pugilist could be looking at some big-name adversaries afterward if he gets the desired outcome here.
The WBA world champion Dmitry Bivol looms in the distance as the number two ranked WBA contender Buatsi readies to step into the ring in the coming days.
Joshua Buatsi has a myopic focus on his upcoming opponent though because he knows this bout is being used as a real litmus test. One to see where Buatsi is at in relation to contending for a world championship.
Ricards Bolotniks’ Resume
Ricards Bolotniks won the Golden Contract relatively recently and is presently ranked favorably by many of the alphabet soup organizations. In his last outing, Bolotniks defended the WBO European light heavyweight championship for the second time successfully.
He looks to step up to that next tier and garner hardware so as to extend his win streak to eight straight.
Joshua Buatsi’s recent training with Virgil Hunter could be an interesting element to this fight. With fighters like Andre Ward and Andre Berto regularly working with Hunter, those top-level sweet science practitioners can really refine an already deadly fighter in Buatsi that much more.
Ricards Bolotniks’ sub-fifty percent finishing rate takes a bit away from the idea he scores a flash KO here. But he has a wealth of experience overall and also has the localized experience of going twelve rounds which Buatsi is unfamiliar with as of yet.
Joshua Buatsi vs Ricards Bolotniks Tale of the Tape
| 14-0 | Record | 18-5-1 |
| 12 | Knockouts | 8 |
| 6’2 | Height | 6’1 |
| 74″ | Reach | Not Available |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
This prizefight is scheduled for twelve rounds but I do not see this one encroaching to that final bell. There are some prop bets that have good value in my eyes including this fight not going the distance (-500). Also, Buatsi winning via KO or TKO (-300).
In terms of round of finish (bands), I foresee the former stopping the latter between rounds 4-6 (+230) when Buatsi vs Bolotniks transpires. Ultimately, I have Joshua Buatsi in this one and I can see him making waves at light heavyweight for the foreseeable future.
Pick: Joshua Buatsi (-1000)
A part-time writer and full-time broadcaster, Dylan has hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, and covered some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage.
