Billy Joe Saunders v David Lemieux Tips and Betting Offers, 17 December 2017

Billy Joe Saunders v David Lemieux Tips, Free Bets and Betting Offers, Sunday 17th December 2017, Place Bell,

The last big fight of 2017 sees Billy Joe Saunders taking on David Lemieux in the early hours of Sunday morning. The British Southpaw has made the trip over to Quebec for this fight, as he puts his WBO middleweight title on the line. This could be a tricky fight for the travelling Englishman, but can he come out of it with his belt intact and his reputation greatly enhanced?

Preview

Saunders heading to Canada does put him at a disadvantage, and that’s clearly reflected in the betting here. You can back the champion at 5/6 with Ladbrokes for the win, while Lemieux isn’t far behind at evens with Betfred. Meanwhile, the draw is sitting at 25/1 with Betfair going in to this bout. Clearly an even contest is expected, but just who will manage to edge this one?

While the bookies have sided with Saunders, we feel like this could be a step too far for the champion. He has yet to fight outside of the UK, and now he’s flying out to Canada to fight home favourite Lemieux. That’s a tall order, especially for a fighter who hasn’t looked exceptional in recent fights. While he boasts a 100% record in his professional career, stepping out to Quebec is a big leap, and it could throw him off balance. Fighting against the crowd and a handy challenger, we think the champion could be setting himself up for a far, potentially delaying a meeting with Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin.

Betting Verdict

Lemieux has impressed since losing to the impressive Golovkin in 2015, winning four fights in a row after that and barely dropping a round. The challenger should be able to out-punch Saunders, all will be resting on the champion’s approach in this one. However, the Brit has had a habit of tiring towards the end of fights, and he hasn’t always went in to bouts in the best of shape.

Saunders has had a few poor results in recent performances, and that makes us think that he could struggle in this fight. A disappointing win over Willie Monroe, while his other victory in the last 12 months came against the relatively unknown Arthur Akavov. Those displays haven’t been good enough, and we think the trip across to Canada could swing this. We think Lemieux is great value on the outright market, while the Canadian is a huge price to win on points. If Saunders tires in the back-half of the fight, that’s where Lemieux could really profit, and he might have to fight for a decision win given that eight of Saunders’ last 10 have gone the distance.