Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan Betting: Back Lara to leave it to the latter rounds

Erislandy Lara and Gary O’Sullivan will battle for the WBA middleweight world title on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds.

Lara is the champion and hot betting favourite as the fighter dubbed “The American Dream” aims to successfully defend the strap he won when stopping Thomas LaManna inside the opening round before an appreciative audience in Carson last time out.

Spike O’Sullivan enters as the underdog for this contest, but the fighter from Ireland wears it well and is no stranger to upsetting the expectations of so-called boxing experts. He’ll arrive in New York knowing he’s up against it here, but confident he has the skills to win the title.

This fight will serve as the precursor for the Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero fight, which you can also find covered here on Betting News.

Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan Betting Odds and Fight Information

Fight Information

• Cuban-born Erislandy Lara brings a professional record detailing 28 wins against three defeats and three draws.
• Fighting Irishman Gary O’Sullivan touches down in New York with a CV showing 31 wins and four defeats.
• The challenger boasts a fearsome 60% knockout average, and backers will hope to see their man get his big shots off early.
• Venue & Location: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York)
• Start Time: The undercard for the event starts at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and this fight should get underway sometime after 10 p.m. ET.

Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan Betting Odds

Fight odds are from Bovada Sportsbook. Odds from BetOnline are also included in this article.

Moneyline

• Erislandy Lara to win -1600
• Gary O’Sullivan to win +900

Lara dreaming big

Lara enters this bout with a professional record of 28 wins against three defeats and three draws, with 16 wins coming inside the distance. The three losses on his card all came on points which is a testament to the fitness and chin of the champion.

His last five outings are a mixed bag of results, with three wins secured in that period, the other two bouts ending in a draw and a defeat.

Lara was beaten on a split decision by Jarrett Hurd, then fought out a draw with Brian Carlos Castano the next time out.

Those were two close fights, and two Lara came out of without the all-important victory, but he got his career back on track by reeling off a hattrick of wins. He beat Roman Alvarez in round two, Greg Vendetti on points and, most recently, Thomas LaManna inside one round.

Spike has nothing to lose

All the talk pre-fight centres on how good Lara is and how he will win this fight. Starting as the underdog is nothing new to Spike, and it’s not something he’ll lose any sleep over. He has enjoyed a preparation which has flown under the radar, free from media attention.

O’Sullivan has nothing to lose here, and that’s a good position for a fighter. He can enjoy the occasion knowing the crowd is against him but is completely confident in his ability to shock the boxing world. This sport is famous for shock results, and another isn’t out of the question.

O’Sullivan has already shown he belongs at this level, going the distance with Billy Joe Saunders and taking Mexican great Jaime Munguia to round 11. His record reads 31 wins against four defeats, and no draws with 21 KO wins.

The fighter from Cork impressed against Munguia despite the pace catching up with him towards the end as his opponent finished strongly.

We envisage something similar happening here, but if you are determined to support Spike, you can back him to enhance his 60% KO average. At BetOnline, O’Sullivan is +1800 to win by KO/TKO.

How will the battle play out in Brooklyn?

Although Lara has won two of his last three by early stoppage, we don’t expect him to explode out of the traps in this bout and throw caution to the win.

He beat Alvarez in round two, a fighter who already had seven losses on his card. La Manna, in the opening round, a fighter with four defeats.

Spike presents a different, more dangerous opponent, and Lara must adopt a smart game plan if he is to get the win expected of him. Looking back further, Lara has gone the 12 rounds distance in four of his last six fights, which tells us he can take his time and use his boxing skills.

We expect to see the champion take his time and warm into this bout, knowing he is good enough to beat O’Sullivan but aware his opponent has the power to punish any mistakes.

That’s why we are backing Lara to win in the second half of the contest, and the bets below are advised.

If this bout follows our thinking, O’Sullivan will aim to show his strength early, catching his opponent’s respect in the opening rounds.

That won’t throw Lara off his game plan, as he’s experienced enough not to be drawn into a shootout. As the fight moves into the second half, Lara’s boxing skills will come to the fore.

The points lead he will build up in the early exchanges will force Spike to take more risks, and then he’ll be punished by a crisp counter puncher.

Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan Betting Tip – Lara to win in rounds 7-12 (+225 at Bovada Sportsbook)