Can Luke Campbell do it? The Brit travelled to the United States for his last contest, beating Adrian Yung with a memorable fifth round stoppage. However, this is a different challenge altogether – Vasyl Lomachenko is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in world boxing.

Lomachenko is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and he ended his amateur career with an incredible 396 wins from 397 fights. The Ukrainian is a dominant figure in the sport and he will be quietly confident of adding the vacant WBC lightweight title to his hefty collection of belts.

Without further ado, let’s get down to the evening itself. Here is some of the need-to-know information ahead of Lomachenko vs Campbell, as well as our top boxing betting tips for the main event. On paper, it looks a thrilling night of top class boxing and fingers crossed it lives up to the hype.

 

When Is The Fight?

The bout take will place on Saturday 31st August 2019 at the O2 Arena, London. According to Matchroom Boxing, the first fight on the undercard will get underway at around 6pm and there are currently no tickets available.

With a full capacity crowd in the capital, fight fans should expect a raucous atmosphere, especially with pound-for-pound star Lomachenko involved. Early predictions suggest that ring walks for the main event will start at around 10pm BST.

 

How To Watch Lomachenko vs Campbell

Lomachenko’s first British fight as a professional will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office. A pay-per-view event promoted by Matchroom Boxing, fight fans can purchase the bout for £19.95.

With the fight taking place in the UK, the main event will be taking place at a respectable hour and therefore there is less chance of missing the fight due to unsociable hours. If you pay for the event but miss the bout, there will be two replays of the entire card on Sunday.

Who Is Fighting On The Undercard?

Lomachenko vs Campbell isn’t the only world title fight taking place at the O2 on Saturday night. The likeable Charlie Edwards puts his WBC world flyweight title on the line against Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar and most boxing fans will be expecting the British fighter to get the job done.

Meanwhile, high-profile names like Hughie Fury and Joshua Buatsi also feature. Fury’s fight with Alexander Povetkin is the pick of the undercard – Fury is the underdog but a win for the 24-year-old wouldn’t exactly go down as one of heavyweight boxing’s biggest shocks. He is more than capable of holding his own.

The full Lomachenko vs Campbell undercard line-up can be found here:

  • Vasyl Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell (vacant WBC, WBA Super, WBO lightweight)
  • Charlie Edwards vs Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (WBC world flyweight)
  • Hughie Fury vs Alexander Povetkin (heavyweight)
  • Joe Cordina vs Gavin Gwynne (lightweight)
  • Joshua Buatsi vs Ryan Ford (light heavyweight)
  • James Tennyson vs Atif Shafiq (lightweight)
  • Savannah Marshall vs TBA
  • Dalton Smith vs TBA
  • Connor Coghill vs TBA

 

Lomachenko vs Campbell: Betting Tips

It will come as no surprise to see Lomachenko priced up as the odds-on favourite. 1/18 may seem short but the Ukrainian is the dominant force in the lightweight division and you won’t find too many punters backing a Campbell upset this weekend.

However, the Hull fighter is certainly capable of taking this bout into the later rounds. Over 8.5 rounds is priced at 19/20 this weekend and that is very tempting indeed. 3 of Loma’s 13 wins as a professional have come on points and he could be set for a fourth win courtesy of the judges’ scorecards on Saturday night.

Lomachenko to win on points is perhaps the best bet of all at 9/4. Yes, the manner of his fourth-round demolition job on Anthony Crolla was impressive but Campbell won’t go down easily. He has worked incredibly hard to bounce back after losing to Jorge Linares and this will mean everything to him.

If nothing else, one thing is for sure – fight fans could be treated to a dramatic night of professional boxing. With so much hype surrounding the undercard bouts as well as the main event, this could be one of the biggest nights of the year for the sport.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo*

August 29, 2019

By Alex McMahon

Alex McMahon Sport
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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible. 
 

Alex McMahon
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In a team sports, few players are as important as quarterbacks are to American Football teams. A great quarterback can carry his team to victory, while a mediocre one will struggle to keep his team competitive even if the complementary pieces are superb.

The Super Bowl heroes are usually the men under centre. The one player on the field capable of putting the team on his back, dictating the pace of the game and executing a ring-winning drive.

Being a quarterback requires a special set of skills beyond the obvious passing ability, it requires perfect judgement, vision, and quick-thinking. With different circumstances depending on era, team and opponents, comparing quarterbacks isn’t simple.

The greatest ever quarterback debate will rumble on for generations to come, so instead of tackling that specific question, we’ve picked five of the best in NFL history…

 

Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers haven’t always surrounded Aaron Rodgers with the talent to succeed. Rodgers only has one Super Bowl victory to his name as a result and a modest playoff record of nine wins in 16 outings.

Rodgers is a man for the spectacular – which he’s needed to be on recent Packers teams – and he does it while almost never turning the ball over.

The all-time NFL leader in interception percentage, Rodgers has combined his natural ambitious passing with precision. Opposing defenders rarely get a sniff of the ball, and his drives up the field are often spectacular.

When healthy, Rodgers is as unstoppable as any quarterback in the league and regularly lives around the 4,000-yard mark.

Rodgers’ Packers are 10/1 to make the Super Bowl this year in 888sport’s NFL betting. How new head coach Matt LaFleur gets on with his Hall of Fame quarterback could well be the deciding factor in their campaign.

 

Tom Brady

The Michael Jordan of the NFL, Tom Brady’s journey from 199th overall draft pick to six-time Super Bowl champion was a special one.

His partnership with Bill Belichick is the most dominant in league history, owning the AFC East for over a decade. The blend of longevity and excellence is what all sportspeople dream of – Brady has perfected it as well as anyone.

Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL
Photo credit: AP Photo / Steven Senne

Others on this list have stat sheets that surpass Brady – well, they do in the regular season at least. Others have a reputation for the jaw-dropping pass in a way that Brady perhaps doesn’t.

But crucially, none of them come close to his slow-heartbeat, ruthless playoff drives.

Three-time first team All Pro, four-time NFL passing touchdowns leader and 14-time Pro Bowler, Brady’s regular season record isn’t to be overlooked, but it’s those six rings that set him apart from the pack. Just ask the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Peyton Manning

From first overall pick to five-time MVP, Peyton Manning’s career had everything.

A college superstar that lived up to the billing, Manning shattered many a rookie NFL record in his first season with the Indianapolis Colts, but that was just the beginning of his Hall of Fame career.

The two Super Bowls – one with the Colts, one with the Broncos – only tell a small part of Manning’s tale.

It was actually his third Super Bowl appearance, and second loss, that was the best year of his career, as he set all-time records for single-season passing yards and touchdowns.

In the following campaign, he became the all-time leader in passing touchdowns before lifting his second Super Bowl in 2015. Many NFL fans would name Manning as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. With a list of records like he holds, it’s hard to argue with that.

 

Dan Marino

A good test of how much rings impact your legacy, Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback not to hold the Super Bowl trophy aloft.

He won just eight of his 18 career playoff games with a less than stellar touchdown to interception rate – Marino has a regular season CV as good as anyone in NFL history, but his playoff performances hold him back in the greatest ever discussion.

His record-breaking 1984 is one of the all-time individual campaigns. Posting over 5,000 yards (a record that stood for the best part of three decades) and throwing 48 touchdowns (a record that stood for 20 years), Marino was unsurprisingly awarded MVP.

Although he regularly passed 3,000 yards, Marino didn’t won another MVP trophy. He was, however, named in the All Pro first team on three occasions.

Marino was one of the NFL rookies to watch as he won the 1983 Rookie of the Year. The Miami Dolphins will be hoping Josh Rosen can get somewhere near that standard this season in his second year in the NFL after arriving from the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Joe Montana

Four Super Bowls, four Super Bowl rings for Joe Montana. As cool under pressure as any quarterback in NFL history, Montana might well rank at the top of the ‘clutch’ list.

In those four Super Bowl appearances, he never threw an interception, while winning three Super Bowl MVPs. Passing 3,000 yards wasn’t a challenge for Montana, but he surprisingly never led the league in passing yards in a season.

Accuracy, meanwhile, was Montana’s speciality. It wasn’t just Super Bowls when interceptions were rare, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback seldom turned the ball over, keeping opponent’s defences on the field and grinding them down.

The run to his fourth Super Bowl in 1989 was one for the ages. Montana compiled over 800 yards, threw for 11 touchdowns and didn’t register even a single interception.

His position among the greatest ever is without question, though his numbers aren’t quite as gawdy as some others.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Winslow Townson / AP Photo*

August 29, 2019
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox

NBA venues are about putting on a show. The ‘how did he do that?!’ dunks, the mesmerising handles and highlight reel blocks are obviously a big part of it, but much of the entertainment is the venue itself.

Teams go out of their way to make it an experience that people will enjoy. The basketball still has to be good, of course, but some venues earn their way onto to bucket lists through history, through prestige.

Others, those newly built, will attract a different set of eyes, eyes of people who see it as the ‘place to be’. New arenas are built relatively frequently across the NBA.

Sometimes it’s because teams are changing their location, sometimes they just fancy a bright, sparkly new place to call home - and the additional revenue it brings with it. For a variety of reasons, here are the top venues in the NBA…

 

Chase Center

Okay, it’s a bit of a leap to put the Chase Center on here as it hasn’t hosted an NBA game yet.

It is a change for the Golden State Warriors, swapping their beloved Oracle in Oakland for the glitzy Chase Center in San Francisco, and there’s no hiding the fact this is about tapping into the Silicon Valley riches.

The Chase Center is just part of an immense complex. It perhaps alters the identity of the Warriors, taking them away from their roots in Oakland.

It remains to be seen what the new venue is like for basketball, and if it can come close to the earth-shaking atmosphere of Oracle. Golden State’s first year at the Chase Center will be different from their previous ones.

With Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and Klay Thompson injured, there is uncertainty over the Warriors’ chances this season. Steve Kerr’s team are way out at 14/1 to win the 2020 title in 888sport’s NBA betting odds.

 

TD Garden

Usually referred to as The Garden, the TD Garden has been Boston Celtics’ home since 1995, when it replaced the Boston Garden.

Hosting both Boston Bruins and Celtics games, it is the largest arena in New England, and has a wonderful museum of all of Boston’s sports teams.

When the TD Garden first opened, both the Celtics and Bruins struggled mightily. Perhaps fittingly, the drought ended when a Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett led Celtics defeated their old rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals.

There was a rematch of that Finals matchup two years later, with the TD Garden hosting three games once again, but a Kobe Bryant inspired Lakers were victorious on that occasion.

The rafters at TD Garden are littered with retired numbers from Pierce to Kevin McHale and Larry Bird.

 

Madison Square Garden

The oldest arena in the NHL and the NBA, Madison Square Garden is the most iconic venue in the NBA, and perhaps in all of American sports.

A big night at The Garden is extra special for any NBA player. The capacity for basketball is a shade under 20,000, making it significantly larger than Chase Center.

Home games for the Knicks haven’t been the happiest of occasions in recent times, but MSG will always attract tourists and Knicks superfan Spike Lee.

It’s location – in the heart of New York – adds to its value. While newer arenas are often built out of town, Madison Square Garden is no more than a short walk from other landmarks like the Empire State Building.

Despite a troubled few years for the Knicks, MSG is up there with Fenway Park and Wrigley Field as the most well-known sporting venues in the US.

 

Staples Center

While Staples Center isn’t as famed as The Forum, it is about to host the fiercest Los Angeles basketball rivalry ever.

Having the bonus of being home for two teams (despite a bizarre path to get to that point), you’ve got double the chance of catching an NBA game if you’re passing by Staples Center.

There are 10 statues outside Staples Center, though many of the players honoured actually played at The Forum.

Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal are the NBA players honoured, along with former Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn.

The duels between the Lakers and Clippers in the 2019/20 NBA season are going to be epic. We might be heading for an all-Staples Center playoff matchup.

 

Scotiabank Arena

Home to one of the best buzzer beaters in NBA history just a few months ago, Scotiabank Arena generated an incredible atmosphere in the NBA Finals 2019.

Like Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden, rapper Drake is a common feature courtside at the Scotiabank Arena. Drake spends a fair amount of time talking to opposition players – he’s more than a fan, he is the cheerleader-in-chief.

It was loud in the arena for the NBA Finals and playoff run. Out at Maple Leaf Square, just outside Scotiabank Arena, the noise was deafening, particularly when Kawhi Leonard hit that four-bounce buzzer beater against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Maple Leaf Square became known as Jurassic Park. The Raptors are not expected to come close to defending their crown in 2019/20, but Scotiabank will be in a celebratory mood for most of the season after their first ever NBA title.

However, one thing is for sure - the atmosphere on opening night will be special.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Elise Amendola / AP Photo*

August 29, 2019
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox
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