Two fantastic championship bouts highlight Saturday’s night of boxing action. In the first bout, two of the top women boxers on the planet, Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, throw down for the four major lightweight belts. Then in the second high-profile championship fight, Shakur Stevenson steps into the ring versus titlist Oscar Valdez. Check out Boxing Lines and analysis for Taylor versus Serrano, Stevenson against Valdez, and three other fantastic fights.
Serrano vs Taylor and Stevenson takes on Valdez Top Saturday Fights | Boxing Lines & Picks
Top Boxing Events
- When: Saturday, April 30
Ellen Cederroos +110 vs Franchon Crews -150
- 10-Rounds WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO Super Middleweight Titles
- New York – DAZN at 4:00 pm ET
The chalk is 7-1 with 2 knockout victories. Crews is a talented boxer. She knows how to cut off the ring, which is the primary reason she’s the favorite to get to Cederroos.
Cederroos is taller, but she has a shorter reach. More importantly, in her bout versus Alicia Napoleon Espinosa, Cederroos, even though she won, didn’t use her jab as effectively as she will have to versus Crews. The favorite wins.
Boxing Pick: Franchon Crews
Jessie Vargas +225 vs Liam Smith -300
- 10-Rounds Junior Middleweights
Jessie “The Pride of Las Vegas” Vargas is 29-3-2 with 11 knockout wins. Vargas is an underdog versus Liam Smith because he hasn’t stepped into the ring since 2020 and when he did it was on the losing end of a bout against Mikey Smith.
Liam Smith is 33-3-1 with 17 knockout or technical knockout wins. Smith is an excellent fighter, no doubt. But he built his record primarily fighting in the UK. At one point, Garcia was a pound-for-pound best. Yes, he’s been off for a long time, but if he’s even three-quarters of what he was before the layoff, the Pride of Sin City wins this.
Boxing Pick: Jessie Vargas
Amanda Serrano -160 vs Katie Taylor +135
- 10-Rounds WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO Lightweight Titles
Serrano versus Taylor has the chance to be one of the year’s best boxing matches. Both have never-ending motors. Both have zero fear. And both are hungry to prove they’re the best.
Amanda Serrano is 42-1-1 with 30 TKO or KO wins. Her last loss was in 2012. Katie Taylor is 20-0 with 6 knockout or technical knockout wins. Katie is a fantastic boxer, just brilliant, but she doesn’t have the experience Serrano brings to this fight.
But Amanda hasn’t won via TKO or KO in her last couple of bouts. She’s going to have to knockout the underdog to slow her down. Taylor is worth backing to upset the legend.
Boxing Pick: Katie Taylor
Jeremy Hill +700 vs Raymond Muratalla -1400
- 8-Rounds Lightweights
- Las Vegas – ESPN & ESPN+ at 4:00 pm ET
Hill versus Muratalla should be exciting boxing match. The underdog has a decent 16-2 record with 11 knockout wins. Raymond Muratalla is 13-0 with 11 TKO or KO wins.
The underdog has a shot. But Muratalla has more power and Hill has lost 2-of-4. Raymond is on the fast path to a title shot. He should handle Hill no problem.
Boxing Pick: Raymond Muratalla
Oscar Valdez +500 vs Shakur Stevenson -800
- 12-Rounds WBO, WBC Junior Lightweight Titles
The most exciting bout of the night pits Shakur Stevenson versus Oscar Valdez. Shakur should be the chalk, but -800 is ridiculous.
Stevenson has yet to box a fighter as talented as Oscar Valdez. Oscar is 30-0 with 23 knockout wins. He beat Robson Conceicao via unanimous decision in his last bout. The fight to really pay attention to was the win against Miguel Berchelt.
Valdez showed he will do whatever it takes to win a bout. He’s got more experience than Shakur and once he lands a powerful punch, nobody knows how Shakur will react. At +500, Oscar is a big overlay. Valdez gets the nod.
Boxing Pick: Oscar Valdez