Chris Colbert, one of the most exciting prospects in boxing, was supposed to be fighting for a junior lightweight world title on Saturday. Instead, Hector Garcia has stepped in for sick beltholder Roger Gutiérrez, and it’ll be the biggest chance of his lifetime. Meanwhile, Colbert has to wait just a little longer before he can call himself a champion, assuming he first can get by his new opponent. Here’s everything you need to know about Chris Colbert vs. Hector Garcia, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.
While Garcia doesn’t have an extensive resume, the fact he’s a late replacement could be a positive for the underdog. If Colbert doesn’t know much about him, after all, he couldn’t have prepared much for Garcia. And it certainly doesn’t seem like Colbert frightens him.
“I don’t consider Chris Colbert particularly dangerous,” Garcia said. “I’ve watched him fight before and I know that I do have to be agile, since he is very fast. I have been sparring with many training partners that have styles similar to his here in Las Vegas and that should help me adjust once we’re in the fight.”
But then again, Colbert is coming off the three biggest victories of his career, and he was heavily favored to beat Gutierrez and take his 130-pound title. Unsurprisingly, Colbert said Garcia is going to be in for a big surprise … even if Colbert hasn’t studied much on his opponent that was replaced with less than two weeks’ notice.
“He’s going to learn firsthand how dangerous I am,” Colbert said. “I’m not worried about anything he brings to the ring. I love when people think that power is going to save them against me.”
“I don’t really know anything about Garcia,” Colbert continued. “I know he’s got two arms and two legs, and beyond that I expect him to bring his A-game, because he has to against me. There’s no way that I’m letting him come in as a late replacement and beat me.”
Here’s more info on the Chris Colbert vs. Hector Garcia showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on Showtime beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
Chris Colbert vs. Hector Garcia odds
Chris Colbert is an enormous betting favorite. As of this writing, he was -3300, meaning you’d have to bet $3,300 to win $100. Meanwhile, Garcia is a +1100 underdog, which means you’d earn a $1,100 payday on a $100 wager. There’s no sense in betting Colbert’s money line, but I wouldn’t mind you taking a crack at a prop bet. Colbert hasn’t shown much power and considering Garcia was a talented amateur and should be competent in the ring, perhaps taking Colbert by decision at +125 or taking the over of 9.5 rounds at -120 would be a solid play.
If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Colbert to beat Garcia by decision at -125, Josh Taylor to stop Jack Catterall at -163 and Gary Antuanne Russell to beat Viktor Postol at -800. That would win you $308 on a $100 wager (and for the record, my hypothetical parlay would have hit last week).
Chris Colbert vs. Hector Garcia records
Colbert’s record of 16-0 (6 KOs) keeps getting better and better, and so does his opposition. In his last three fights, he’s beaten Jezreel Corrales, Jaime Arboleda and Tugstsogt “King Tug” Nyambayar, all of whom have a combined record of 59-5. At first glance, it’s not obvious that Garcia is at the same level of those opponents, but then again, that’s why they actually fight the fights.
Garcia, at 14-0 with 10 KOs, appears to have good power. But the 30-year-old former Olympian from the Dominican Republic also doesn’t have many recognizable names on his resume. His best victory came only two months ago when he beat Isaac Avelar by unanimous decision, but it’s apparent that Colbert is much more talented than anybody Garcia has faced as a professional.
Chris Colbert vs. Hector Garcia prediction
It’s hard to know what to expect from Garcia. He had a good amateur career, and he appears to have some confidence. But there’s not much proof that he has the skills to pull this upset. I’d go with Colbert by unanimous decision, somewhere in the 117-111 range.
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