Knapp vs Garcia Prediction: Will South Africa Have a Boxing Champion?
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Vladislav Tchakarov
The boxing program this Saturday is stacked from early afternoon to late at night. Among other high-profile fights, we have Roarke Knapp and Jorge Garcia Perez in a clash for the vacant IBO super welterweight championship. Here is our Knapp vs Garcia prediction.
Knapp vs Garcia Prediction: Who Has the Advantage?
Roarke Knapp Preview
Roarke Knapp could become the first South African boxer to hold an IBO championship belt. The South African's winning streak has already lasted eight fights.
In his most recent fight in September 2023, he defeated Przemyslaw Zysk (knockout, fifth round). This was a huge moment in his career as he became the first boxer to beat the Pole and it brought more attention to his name.
Before that, he defeated Ahmed El Mousaoui (unanimous decision) and the former world title contender Dante Jardon (unanimous decision). His only career defeat game against Brandon Thysse in 2019. However, he got his revenge in June 2022, when he beat Thysse with a split decision and won the ABU super welterweight belt.
The 26-year-old Knapp has a record of 17 wins (12 by knockout), one loss and one draw. Roark is ranked 11th in the division by the WBC and tenth by the IBF.
Knapp was scheduled to make his international debut against Josh Kelly in England in late 2023 but the bout was canceled after Roarke picked up a serious hand injury that required surgery. As a result, he will fight at home again. Continue reading below for our final Knapp vs Garcia prediction.
Jorge Garcia Perez Preview
Jorge Garcia Perez is only 27 years old but has already fought 33 professional fights. His record includes 29 wins (24 by knockout) and four losses. He enters this fight with a streak of four wins in a row.
In his most recent fights, Garcia defeated Angel Cruz Johnson for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental super welterweight title and Abraham Juarez Ramirez by knockout in the very first round.
Garcia has more experience with high-level boxers than Knapp. This will be the biggest night of his career but he previously faced Jorge Paez Jr. and Carlos Ocampo.
Our Roarke Knapp vs Jorge Garcia Prediction: Bookmakers Have It Wrong
Knapp has never fought outside of South Africa and this bout will not be different. He will once again perform in front of his home crowd in Johannesburg. And of course, he is also the bookmaker's favorite with a huge advantage in odds.
While Knapp has all the necessary skills to win this fight, we believe that bookmakers overestimated his chances and the odds are a bit extreme. The Mexican is also quite capable of knocking out his opponent, especially after 24 KOs in 29 wins.
Their overall level is similar and both have faced few well-known opponents to date. On paper, we believe that Knapp will find a way to win and the home advantage will also play an important part.
For some reason, bookmakers expect this fight to reach the scorecards. We have to go against this for our Knapp vs Garcia prediction. Between them, the boxers have 36 wins by knockout. We expect this fight to end within distance but we wouldn't bet on a specific winner.
To conclude, there are several better boxing cards this weekend but the early start of the event in Johannesburg is a good enough reason to tune in and watch this curious fight.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.