We saw our current win streak extended to 5 consecutive weeks. Last week’s pick was the fight between unbeaten Rob Brant (18-0, 11KOs) of Minnesota and Louis Rose (13-4-1, 5KOs) of Southern California. The bout took place at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. The bout was aired live on Showtime’s Sho-Box series. It was a big step up in class for Brant who had been building up his record on lower level opposition in his native Minnesota for the most part. Rose on the other hand had been tested and had some decent victories over much fairer opposition than that of Brant. Our pick was Brant who gutted out a hard fight decision victory.
This week we have decided to go with the matchup between former 2-time world title challenger Tony “The Tiger” Thompson (40-5, 27 KOs) and Malik “King” Scott (37-2-1, 13 KOs). The bout is a 10 round scheduled heavyweight match. The main event will take place this Friday at The Venue at UCF, located behind the CFE Arena in Orlando, Florida. Bounce TV will air the bout.
Thompson’s career seemed all but done following his rematch knockout loss to Wlad Klitsckho in 2012. He rebounded in a big way in 2013 knocking out undefeated David Price and then duplicated the feat just months later in the same year. He has since defeated former world title challenger and olympic gold medalist Odlanier Solis twice. The most recent was in February of this year which was his last fight.
After going nearly a decade of being unbeaten and fighting lower level completion Scott stepped up in 2012. He took on unbeaten Vyacheslav Glazkov. It was a close fight that ended in a draw. Scott established himself as a legit threat in the heavyweight division. In his last bout Scott went on the road to Australia to defeat local and former world title challenger Alex Leapai. Maybe even more impressive was that Scott on points.
Both Thompson and Scott know that this is a big opportunity. The winner has a legitimate chance to get back in the world title mix. They each enter this fight with momentum. The odds have Thompson as a slight favorite at -180 over the underdog Scott who is +150. The styles matchup could make this a not so entertaining fight which may be the reason for the close odds. We are choosing Thompson to win.
Disclaimer: Boxing360’s Pick of the week is strictly for entertainment purposes only
