Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta Preview
One of the most exciting boxing rematches of the year will take place this weekend. Dennis McCann will fight Ionut Baluta on the undercard of Joe Joyce vs Dereck Chisora. This bout will go down at the O2 Arena in London on July 27th.
McCann was a massive favourite ahead of the first match. But Baluta belied his underdog status by getting in McCann’s face and giving him the fight of his life. Now McCann wants to prove that he’s a class apart from his Romanian rival.
Pride isn’t the only thing on the line in this super-bantamweight bout. McCann hopes to defend his British and Commonwealth titles while they’re also fighting for the vacant European strap.
Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta Key Stats and Head-to-Head
McCann is one of the most highly-rated prospects in British boxing. The Baluta draw is gnawing at him because it’s the only blemish on his otherwise perfect record. He is currently undefeated at 15-0-1 and believes he’s far more technical than Baluta.
The first clash only went nine rounds because of a serious cut on McCann’s forehead. It went to the scorecards with the judges awarding a technical draw. That doesn’t tell the full story of what was a thrilling match-up.
Baluta made this a nasty, bruising encounter. He came to brawl and rocked McCann several times across multiple rounds. McCann was the better boxer, but Baluta caused damage. He had an outstanding round seven after a clash of heads.
The blood began to leak down McCann’s face, and Baluta produced an onslaught of punches. Then, in round eight, he stung McCann with a brutal left hook that the English fighter did well to survive. Ultimately, only a single judge thought McCann won the match while the others scored draws.
The Maidstone native moved to Liverpool for training ahead of this bout. He’s joined a clutch of young boxers in Joe McNally’s stable. McCann believes that this will take him to the next level as he looks to compete on the world stage.
He’s had one fight since his first meeting with Baluta. This was a unanimous decision victory over Brad Strand at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham. Strand struggled to land until late in the fight. McCann was excellent in the early rounds and knocked the Liverpudlian down in the second.
One concern was how Strand had success in the eighth stanza. He put McCann under severe pressure with some effective combos. Ultimately, McCann could showboat in the final round because he knew he had done enough to win.
Baluta hasn’t fought since their first match. The Romanian has a record of 16-4-1 with only two wins in his last five. However, his two losses in this period came against Michael Conlan and Liam Davies, so there’s no shame in that. He’s fought for multiple titles recently and believes he’s better than people think.
He also has some decent wins on his record with TJ Doheny and Andrew Cain, two of his most high-profile scalps. Baluta moved his training to the UK after spending most of his career in Spain. He fights out of an orthodox stance, unlike ‘The Menace’, who is a southpaw.
It’s worth noting McCann is only 23 years old. The young man has achieved an incredible amount in such a short time. He hopes to collect all the major regional belts before moving into world title contention. Frank Warren is his promoter and thinks his charge has incredible potential.
Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta Predictions
Prediction: Dennis McCann to win by decision
Our boxing prediction is that McCann will win this rematch by decision. The super-bantamweight prospect is one of Europe’s most exciting young talents. It’s a great opportunity for him to demonstrate his class and show his progress under Joe McNally.
McCann must maintain his focus. His advantage is that it’s easier for him to change his approach than Baluta. The Romanian will attempt to draw him into a firefight again and make it as savage as possible. McCann can’t allow this to happen because this increases Baluta’s chance of a knockout victory.
Betting on McCann to win by a judge’s decision is the most likely outcome. Baluta is very tough with no KO/TKO defeats on his record. McCann is a sharpshooter with a 53% KO percentage and eight knockout wins. There’s always the chance he’ll find Baluta’s chin if the Romanian is too reckless.
Baluta’s best chance of winning is a finish. He proved he could hurt McCann with some damaging shots in the first match. The Romanian has less respect for the younger man’s power now. He also has outstanding experience against some of the best European boxers. Arguably, he’s fought better competition than McCann, even if he hasn’t always been successful.
This should be a less exciting fight than the first bout, but a more dominant McCann performance. He has the technical ability to evade Baluta while landing clean punches on the counter. Maturity is crucial because he must resist the allure of a brawl.
If one of these fighters has a bad weight cut, it could affect their performance. Check the in-play betting after the first couple of rounds because the odds may shift. Baluta will try to land some early heavy shots. If he connects, it could turn this fight on its head.
Dennis McCann has Brad Strand down! 🥊
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— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) March 16, 2024
Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta Betting Tips
Our betting site thinks that Dennis McCann will comfortably win this boxing match. The young Englishman is a 1/3 favourite and a €10 stake would make a €3.33 profit. This is surprisingly low after Baluta took him to a draw in their last meeting.
They appear confident that McCann will learn from his mistakes and dominate this fight. It’s also most likely that he’ll win a decision with 8/15 odds. This time, €10 would make €5.33. It may be tempting with a bigger stake.
Baluta proved it is foolish to underestimate him. He’s a live underdog at 21/10. There’s decent money to be made on the Romanian if you think he’ll finish the job this time. His most likely method of victory is a knockout because we don’t envisage him outboxing ‘The Menace’ across 12 rounds.
It’s 10/1 for anyone betting on Baluta to finish McCann, which would make a good double along with him to win outright. If players want to take it further, they could bet on the round the fight will end. It’s 50/1 for Baluta to win in any of the rounds from 7 to 11. This is risky so it may be a good chance to apply our welcome bonus.
Consider the over-under odds on the total number of rounds in this fight. It’s 2/15 for this fight to go past 10.5 rounds. This correlates with our prediction of a McCann decision. However, it’s tempting to bet on it ending before 10.5 rounds at 9/2.
Don’t forget that ‘The Menace’ also has fire in his hands. He’s a very clinical puncher and our sports betting platform gives him a better chance of finishing Baluta than vice versa. It’s 5/1 for him to win by KO/TKO and 28/1 to do it in rounds 8 to 10.
You don’t need to commit to a winner. Players can select a result without choosing the victor. It’s 1/5 for this fight to finish in a decision and 5/1 to end between rounds 7-12. Fans are hoping for another war between these two talented boxers.
Check out the other boxing action this weekend. In the main event, you can bet on Joe Joyce vs Dereck Chisora in a major UK heavyweight clash. Claressa Shields also hopes to make history by winning a title in a fourth weight class. Why not create an accumulator with all the favourites?
Dennis McCann vs Ionut Baluta Outcome
Betting on boxing events looks like a lot of fun this weekend. McCann is a young fighter with huge ambitions and he enjoys a good relationship with promoter Frank Warren, who thinks the sky is the limit. This rematch represents a potential turning point in his career. McCann is open about wanting to fight Liam Davies.
If McCann wins, he’s going to be competing on the world stage. He could find himself moving swiftly up the rankings. TJ Doheny is fighting Naoya Inoue for the undisputed titles so it wouldn’t take many victories for him to get there. But nobody in McCann’s camp wants him anywhere near ‘The Monster’ yet.
Meanwhile, Baluta is currently No. 12 in the WBC rankings so he could find himself in the top 10 with a win. Victory for the Romanian would see him steal McCann’s thunder and open up unexpected opportunities. This is his last chance at a title run, so he’ll be desperate to win.
