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Betting news on Manchester City, Rory McIlroy and the last day of the Olympics *sob*

by on August 12, 2012 in Basketball, Boxing, CHAMPIONSHIP, Football, Golf, Latest football news, Olympics, Premier League

Morning update from the Paddy Power Blog on all the latest betting moves in sport

Olympics

The Olympic athletics programme came to a fantastic climax last night. That’s fantastic if you’re Mo Farah or British or Jamaican. For everyone else it was probably a bit annoying. London’s East End was rocking as Farah (29) won the 5,000 metres with a performance of sheer class and determination. In the last lap and a half, it looked like he was sitting duck waiting to be picked off by rivals who had much more left in the tank, but the reigning world champion held off attack after attack to storm home cleared of the challengers. It’s his second gold of these Olympics after he claimed the 10,000 metres a week ago and it recreates the double he won at last year’s World Championship in Daegu.

- Later, there was Usain Bolt’s posing and Yohan Blake’s ‘beast’ impression that looks more like a Lady Gaga dance gone wrong aplenty as Jamaica win the men’s 4 x 100 metre relay in a world record time.

- Over at the aquatic centre, there was no need to troll Tom Daley on Twitter as he performed brilliantly to win bronze in the men’s 10 metre platform final. Watched by David Beckham and some of bizarrely named children, Daley (18) looked delighted to have podiumed. Clearly, it was the fulfilment of one of his childhood dreams, as the below picture he drew nine years ago suggests. Although he never did grow those breasts.

- Luke Campbell won gold in the bantamweight division of the boxing, beating John Joe Nevin of Ireland with a display of clean hitting and solid defence.

- It’s the final day of the Olympics and the main highlights are the men’s marathon at 11am, Team Dream Part 2 winning their inevitable gold medal. They take on Spain at 2.50pm. Team GB have the chance of a couple more boxing golds as Freddie Evans fights in the final of the welterweight division and Anthony Joshua in the super-heavyweight decider (at 2.15pm and 3.15pm respectively)

Football

- With the Olympics leaving the centre stage, football begins to creep back into the limelight with the Community Shield. Manchester City will be without Joe Hart for the game as he’s been ruled out due to a back injury and considering it’s against a Chelsea team that have spent freely over the summer, Roberto Mancini has seized to opportunity to have another grumble about the lack of transfers at City this close season.

“It can happen that when a young team win the championship after many years, the new season starts very badly,” said Mancini, getting the excuses in early. The Italian have made sure not to bite the hand that might eventually feed him, by targeting the club’s sporting director, Brian Marwood rather than the owners. “City fans can be happy they have Sheik Mansour and Khaldoon. Only these two guys are important, the other people are not. They care about the club every day,” he added.

City are 5/4 favourites to defend their Premier League title and 4/6 to win their first Community Shield since it was still called the Charity Shield, forty years ago.

- Across the city, Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be fuming that Arsenal won’t accept his attempt to push the price of Robin van Persie for City up pretty paltry £15m bid for Robin van Persie. Sources are blaming the long-running feud the Manchester United boss has had with Wenger, which doesn’t make a whole load of sense as the grumpy pair have been at pains to point out the hatchet has been buried in recent seasons. Van Persie is currently 9/1 to be the Premier League’s Top Goalscorer and United are 12/5 to win the Premier League.

- Neil Warnock, January 2011

For many years I have thought he (Diouf) was the gutter type – I was going to call him a sewer rat but that might be insulting to sewer rats. ‘I think he is the lowest of the low and I can’t see him being at Blackburn much longer because I can’t see Steve Kean putting up with someone like that in the dressing room when he is trying to form a new image for Blackburn.

El Hadji Diouf, January 2011

Who is Warnock? He’s nothing to me. He’s not Alex Ferguson, he’s not Arsene Wenger, he’s not Sam Allardyce or an important manager. I know he doesn’t like me, but it’s the same for me too – I don’t like him

August 2012
Diouf signs up for Warnock’s Leeds

Leeds are 4/1 to get promoted from the Championship and there are no odds available on Diouf doing something moronic before the end of the season.

Golf

- Stormy weather means we’re in for a busy final day at the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Play was suspended yesterday afternoon/evening, meaning a whole host of players have to complete their third rounds before heading out for their final 18. Indeed, co-leader Vijay Singh is in for a very busy day of silly pants wearing as he has to get through 29 holes today.

Singh is on -6 and 7/1 to win the tournament, but that’s mainly because alongside him at the top of the leaderboard is Rory McIlroy who was tearing the course up when play was stopped on Saturday. McIlroy had five birdies and one bogey on his front nine and he’s now 2/1 favourite to win the final major of the year.

After his collapse at the British Open last month, Adam Scott is showing remarkable resilience and despite being a further shot back, going four under in the first nine holes of his third round has him rated a 10/3 shot to win.

After looking ominous at the halfway point, Tiger Woods has tumbled down the leaderboard thanks to going three over par through the seven holes he got to play on Saturday. He’s 14/1 to claim major number 15 this weekend, but it will require a dramatic turnaround in form for him to win it from here.

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Betting news on Rangers, Blackburn, the US PGA and the Olympics

by on August 11, 2012 in Boxing, CHAMPIONSHIP, Football, Golf, Latest football news, Olympics

Paddy'seveningnibbles

Evening update from the Paddy Power Blog on all the latest betting moves in sport

Olympics

- Despite my gloomy predictions earlier today, Tom Daley has qualified for the final of the men’s 10 metre platform. He put some poor form behind him to throw himself into the pool flamboyantly better than he was doing in yesterday’s qualifying round. He’s 14/1 to win tonight’s final (8.30pm), but in some more encouraging news, he’s third favourite, so a medal is on the cards.

- A medal is also on the cards for Mo Farah, but his chances of gold are rated considerably better than Daley’s. He goes in the final of the 5,000 metres this evening (7.40pm) and he’s 13/8 to win it.

- John Joe Nevin and Luke Campbell are making final preparations for their Bantamweight Final at the Excel Arena this evening (8.45pm). Being amateur boxing, there’s no pre-might ‘I’ll eat your babies trash talk’, just some polite mumblings about each other. “I’ve got family in Ireland who know Nevin’s family. We all know he’s great fighter, and he’s always been one of my major threats,” said Campbell whilst Nevin reckons “I’ll go out smiling and enjoy the whole thing. That’s my attitude. It’s brought me all the way to the final and hopefully it can take me one step further.” Nevin is the narrow 4/6 favourite to win the contest.

- It was the gold medal match in the men’s Olympic Football at Wembley today. Mexico beat Brazil 2-1 and although in most countries that would be greeted with an indifferent shrug, it’ll really hurt the Brazilians as they’re a little obsessed with the Olympic title. It’s the only major tournament they compete in that they’ve never won and Oscar’s missed header from five yards out to take the match into extra time won’t help the agony. Brazil were long time favourites for the title, but they again fail to deliver and the next target is the 2014 World Cup on home soil. The Samba Boys remain 7/2 to take World Cup number six.

A regular at the top of the podium for ill-advised commentators is Mark Lawrenson, who used to occasion to come up with a prediction that makes Pele look like Nostradamus. “We might just see the best of Brazil today,” said the genius co-commentator after 24 seconds of the gold medal match at Wembley. After precisely 28 seconds it was 1-0 to Mexico.

Football

- Rangers discovered the life in Division 3 of Scottish football isn’t going to be all flogging fishermen, postmen and members of other assorted professions. The 54 times Scottish champions were held to a 2-2 draw away to Peterhead and they were a touch lucky to get that, relying on a 90th minute equaliser from Andy Little to pull level. Rangers had started well, going ahead after 27 minutes through Barrie McKay, but Peterhead scored to second half goals and forced some good saves out of Neil Alexander. It’s not likely to change their prospects of promotion however as the Glasgow side are still 1/50 to romp to the league title.

- In one of the more surreal questions and answers sessions we’ve ever seen, it’s been announced that Steve Kean will be sacked by Blackburn Rovers if he loses three games in a row with the club this season. The club’s global advisor, Shebby Singh fielded questions from supporters comprising the Blackburn Rovers Action Group. When pressed on how much patience the club would have with Kean in their promotion push, he cited three defeats in succession as being the limit of their patience, resulting in a loud cheers and chorus for ‘Kean out’ from the crowd. To avoided any claims of the ultimatum being labelled ‘lost in translation’ the MC clarified the situation with this exchange:

MC: “If the manager loses three games on the bounce, he’s gone?”
Shebby Singh: “Yes.”

Rovers are 4/1 to get promoted at the end of the season, but the odds of Kean being down the job club before that are much shorter.

Golf

- The third round of the US PGA Championship is underway. The leaders aren’t out until later this evening, but it’s been a good start for Luke Donald. Despite making the cut by the skin of his very white teeth, he’s made a move up the leaderboard. At +4, he’s still quite far behind the leaders on -4, just not as far as he was when he began this morning. British Open champion of 2010, Louis Oosthuizen is also going along well, but Tiger looks to be the man to beat and he’s 13/8 to be the one holding the oversized trophy on Sunday evening.

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Kenny Egan: ‘This is John Joe Nevin’s time’

by on August 11, 2012 in Boxing, More Sports, Olympics

NO AVERAGE JOE – Nevin has the chance for Ireland’s second gold of London 2012 (pic: Inpho)

By Kenny Egan | Olympic silver medalist and boxing pundit

It’s already been a fantastic Olympics for the Irish boxing team. It’s one of the best boxing teams that’s ever travelled. At the start, all they were asked to do was perform to the best of their abilities and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Each and every one of them has been outstanding all week and it’s been a pleasure to watch them and to know them. It’s a super team.

I’ve seen a good bit of Luke Campbell from the amateur boxing circuit. I saw him when he faced John Joe in the semi-final of the World Championships in Baku and it was a very cautious fight from both fighter. Campbell came out on top by a point and went on to beat the Cuban, Alvarez, by a point. But John Joe beat Alvarez convincingly yesterday, so it’s clearly going to be a very tricky fight.

It could see this bout being cagey and low-scoring. John Joe has improved more than Luke and that might be enough to swing it in his favour. Seeing Luke last night, he looked very tired and that gave rise to some sloppy mistakes in his semi-final. This is John Joe’s time. After beating Alvarez so resoundingly, his confidence is going to be sky-high. But that’s history and put to bed. He needs to focus on today and the job at hand. John Joe is world class. At the last two World Championships, he’s come home with two bronze medals, so he’s ranked up there with the best of them.

It’ll be a tricky fight. Campbell is tall, awkward and a bit of a nightmare to fight. Nevin has the tools to beat him, but if the Englishman takes a lead early on, we’ll see John Joe on the back foot. In fairness, that’s how it’s been for most of the week and John Joe has been boxing brilliantly. He said after each fight that his confidence was growing and he has beaten this guy before, in the EU Championships in 2009, so he’s in a strong position. He deserves to be favourite. He’s had the harder route to the final and based on their two semi-finals, you’d say he’s the better boxer.

I’d hate to see John Joe get robbed at this stage. It’s on home some for Campbell and I just hope it’s fair scoring. I’m not accusing the judges of anything, but in an Olympic final, with the crowd going wild for their man, it’s sometimes tricky for the judges to score fairly. They’ll need to be focused and block out what’s going to be an electric atmosphere. The Irish supporter has been brilliant all week and it’s felt like a home bout for the Irish boxers every time. It’s been a great help to the team.

John Joe Nevin can and will win this fight. His awareness, his timing, his reflexes all need to be razor sharp, but this is all stuff he’s been working hard on. He needs to be switched on from the moment that bell rings and be ready for anything. This guy is a quick, awkward, southpaw counter-puncher and Nevin needs to be alert throughout. If he stay alert, it’ll win him this fight.

Usain Bolt celebrates 3/9/2011

Betting news on Tiger Woods, Liverpool, Man City and the Olympics

by on August 11, 2012 in Boxing, Football, Golf, Latest football news, More Sports, Olympics, Premier League

Morning update from the Paddy Power Blog on all the latest betting moves in sport

Golf

The wind finally blew at Kiawah Island yesterday and the US PGA Championship came to life. We’re only at the halfway point, but already dreams of a Tiger/McIlroy shoot-out on Sunday evening are hard to ignore. On a tough day of silly-pants wearing, Tiger Woods managed a round of one under par, putting him level at the top of the leaderboard with Carl Pettersson and Vijay Singh on -4. The American is now 13/8 to win his first major since the time everyone thought he was a squeaky clean, if slightly grumpy family man, back in 2008.

Ordinarily, Rory McIlroy’s 75 wouldn’t be a cause for celebration, but on a breezy day, it was good enough to leave him on two under par and within one slice into the water of top spot. He’s 7/1 second favourite to win his first US PGA title. World number two, Ian Poulter (10/1) is also right in contention, with his one under par second round leaving him one shot off the pace.

Elsewhere, Lee Westwood won’t get the chance to throw it away on the final day as he has the weekend off. His seven over par score saw him miss the cut, whilst world number one, Luke Donald on six over par was lucky enough to be on the right side of the line and he will be around for the weekend. With the wind howling, 150/1 isn’t the longest 150/1 shot we’ve ever seen.

Olympics

It’s the penultimate day of the London Olympics and it’s a biggie with plenty of high-profile names in action. Usain Bolt will be going for his third gold of these games when he takes part in the 4 x 100 metre relay (9pm) as part of the Jamaica team. The Jamaicans are 1/6 to claim glory.

Mo Farah is also looking to enhance his collection of gold medals. He goes in the 5,000 metres final at 7.40pm where he’s the 13/8 second favourite behind Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia.

The BBC website tells us to check Tom Daley out in the final of the men’s 10 metre platform at around 8.30pm this evening, but that’s woefully premature as he struggled to qualify for the semi-final and there’s no guarantee he’ll get through this morning’s session.

There’s some long-awaited Team GB v Team Ireland action tonight as Luke Campbell and John Joe Nevin duke it out for gold in the Bantanweight division at 8.45pm this evening. Nevin was very impressed in beating world number one, Lazaro Alvarez in the semi-final, but the odds say there’s little to choose between the two. Nevin is 4/6 favourite, but Campbell can’t be written off at 11/10.

Football

Brendan Rodgers’ plan to bring every player he’s ever worked with to Anfield continues nicely as Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Joe Allen from Swansea for £15 million. Allen (22) did his medical on Friday, didn’t collapse into a heap and the deal was announced on Friday evening. The signing didn’t do anything to their odds and Liverpool remain 25/1 to win the Premier League and 21/10 to land the Top 4 Finish that should see them milk the Champions League cash cow for the season after next.

In other news, Roberto Mancini has allegedly got all stereotypically histrionic and Italian about the lack of business Manchester City have done over the summer. Whilst City’s rivals have all moved to strengthen their squads, the Citizen’s cheque book has remained as underused as Arsenal’s trophy cabinet. Mancini is said to be particularly unhappy with City’s sporting director, Brian Marwood, who seems to have a bizarrely large amount of power. “I am not happy, but I won’t say anything at the moment,” said the manager, saying something at the moment. City are still 5/4 favourites to win the Premier League and 8/13 to lift the Community Shield on Sunday.

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Kenny Egan previews Ireland’s boxing semi-finalists

by on August 10, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics, Sportsbook

Ireland’s John Joe Nevin is one fight away from a shot at gold (pic: Inpho)

With Katie Taylor securing gold on Thursday, Kenny Egan looks at Ireland’s three remaining male fighters as they all look to book their final places today. Will they be able to upgrade their bronze medals to at least a silver and maybe more? Beijing silver-medallist Kenny Egan gave us his views on all three fights.

Paddy Barnes v Shiming Zhou

It was a perfectly executed plan by Paddy in his quarter-final. He went in with a tight guard, he started off fast and got the lead in the first round. Then he had that brilliant second round. He didn’t have to do much in the third because he didn’t have to kill himself.

The Indian fighter got a little messy in the second round and he even through the head at Paddy

Although he’s a strong favorite and he did beat Paddy 15-0 at this stage in Beijing, Shiming Zhou is getting old, he’s 31 now. I watched his quarter-final fight against Birzhan Zhakypov and he didn’t look too good.

Paddy needs to stay in this guy’s face for the full three rounds, non-stop pressure all the time and this guy will get tired.

Paddy’s an all-round better fighter than he was four years ago. He’s thinking and awful lot more, he’s a better mover. His whole selection of punches is much better. This is going to be an awful lot closer than people think.

Paddy will push this guy for the entire fight and I expect it to be a close affair.

Paddy Barnes – 11/4
Shiming Zhou – 2/9

John Joe Nevin v Lazaro Alvarez Estrada

Estrada is definitely the man to beat in this division and there’s no denying he’s very, very good. However he only beat the British fight Campbell by one point at the World Championships last year. John Joe Nevin only lost to Campbell by one point so there’s not much in it.

Styles make fights and these two are counter-punchers so theres not going to be much happening in this fight for the first round or two. It is going to be a very low score and may come down to whoever makes a mistake first.

His plan against Valdez in the lst round was perfection. He fought exactly the way he wanted to. He boxed very well and is a great mover. His footwork is fabulous and he’s always on the move so he’s very hard to hit.

This fight is a different level though. Estrada is top class.

John Joe needs to start of by holding the centre of the ring. He needs to try and get a lead in the first round. Get the lead and move, drawing the Cuban out. When he attacks he’s going to be counter-punched every-time so he needs to establish a lead.

This will be another close one on the cards.

John Joe Nevin – 9/5
Lazara Alvarez Estrada – 2/5

Michael Conlon v Robeisy Ramirez

After his last fight Conlon talked about still having more in the tank but it was a tough fight against against the Frenchman Oubaali. He dug deep in the last round but that just shows you he has the fire in his belly. He wants to win.

This is going to be an exciting match-up because Conlon likes to fight. He can mix it up between orthodox and south-paw but what pleased me most against is that he stayed in the stance he’s not used to. He stuck with south-paw even though he was level going in to the last round and that shows character. He’s a really confident boxer but at this level every fight is going to be close. It’s going to be a war for the full three rounds with this Ramirez kid.

Although Ramirez is the favourite I think the two lads can do a double on these Cubans.

Michael Conlon – 3/1
Robeisy Ramirez – 2/9

  • Betting: Boxing

  • Betting: Olympics

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    Kenny Egan: It’ll be tight but Katie to win gold

    by on August 9, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    A TAYL’ OF GREATNESS: Katie was too good for semi-final opponent and will fight for an historic gold medal today.

    Beijing silver-medallist Kenny Egan talks to us about Katie Taylor and her Olympic final opponent the Russian Sofya Ochigava.

    This is what it’s all about now, there’s no turning back so to speak. It’s a great day in Irish sport and for Katie Taylor and her family and her friends and her father.

    She’s a natural talent and she’s worked so hard to get where she is today. She deserves everything she gets.

    On Katie and her father:

    They don’t cut corners and the pair of them have given 100% for the last ten years. Katie and Peter worked so hard together to get in to this position and you could see it in their faces after the fight that they share a great passion in what they do. Their hard work is showing off now, their in an Olympic final together.

    Her games so far:

    She was in third gear for her quarter-final with Chorieva and she didn’t need to go any higher. Some people were criticising her saying she didn’t box that well but that’s nonsense. she went in there and she won the fight. You have to take in to account the fact that she knew if she won she would be fighting just over 24 hours later. She couldn’t afford to pick up any silly injuries or cuts. She got in there, she got the job done and she won convincingly. That’s all Katie needed to do.

    Her opponent Sofya Ochigava:

    I watched her against the Brazilian and she’s not a bad kid. She’s a good southpaw with a fast right hook. Katie’s going to have to be wary of that shot. I think it’s going to be a battle of the lead hand today. It’s going to be tight in the first two rounds like it was when they met in the World Championships but Katie has what it takes to beat this girl and I think she wants it more.

    There was a lot of nonsense coming from Ochigava talking about the judges being against her. That Katie Taylor has all the judges on her side. That’s all nonsense, it’s just mind-games.

    She tried the same tactic before their fight in the World Championships. Her plan is probably to have Katie coming in being over aggressive and falling over herself chasing her. Katie is going to stay nice and relaxed and pick her shots.

    It will be a close fight because they’re two very clever fighters and it will be a battle of the lead hands. Katie’s left hand and Ochigava’s southpaw right. I wouldn’t expect to be anything like Katie’s fight with Natasha Jonas, this is going to be tight and low-scoring.

    If it is level after two rounds it’ll be down to Pete then to say to Katie to up the gears. I haven’t seen Katie up in fifth and sixth gear yet but is she’s trailing then I think she’ll be let off the reins.

    Score prediction:

    I think it’s going to be in the region of a 10-7 win for Katie. In the first two rounds I don’t expect much to happen, so most of the scoring will come in the last two rounds.

    I expect the winning score to be low either way so it’s probably a bit much to expect Katie to win all four rounds in this fight.

     

     

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    Kenny Egan: Katie Taylor is final bound

    by on August 8, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    NO QUARTER GIVEN: Katie Taylor celebrates her 1/4 final win over Natasha Jonas (pic:Inpho)

    Kenny Egan

    Beijing silver-medallist Kenny Egan gives his thoughts on Irish gold medal hope Katie Taylor’s semi-final fight againt Mavzuna Chorieva from Tajikistan.

    Her quarter-final win over British fight Natasha Jonas:

    To go out and fight the way she did against Jonas in the quarter-final, it’s actually a shame that it wasn’t the final.

    She boxed brilliantly against a very strong opponent and she moved up through the gears when she needed to.

    Even after the fight she said the second round was a bit quiet. She was told to get the head down and she drove it on in the third round. Her engine is amazing as is her variety of punches. She’s just brilliant.

    Her semi-final clash with Mavzuna Chorieva:

    She beat Chorieva 16-6 in the quarter-finals of the World Championships so she shouldn’t have any problems today at all.

    Being the Olympic games anything can happen but if she boxes they way she did against Jonas then this girl shouldn’t trouble her at all to be honest.

    I don’t know if she’ll stop this girl but she’s going to cause her a lot of problems. With that crowd behind Katie she can up her game again. If she boxes to her ability she’ll be in the final.

  • Betting: Katie Taylor v Mavzuna Chorieva
  • Betting: Boxing

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    Betting news on Man Utd, Phillips Idowu and Victoria Pendleton

    by on August 7, 2012 in Boxing, Cycling, Football, Latest football news, More Sports, Olympics, Premier League

    A morning update from the Paddy Power Blog on all the latest betting moves in sport

    Football

    - Manchester United have been trailing Brazilian teenager, Lucas Moura throughout the summer, but it looks like the chances of him coming to Old Trafford are somewhere between ‘slim’ and ‘Madonna’s sex appeal’ aka none.

    He’s edging towards the glitz and glamour of Paris after being told by fellow footballers that Manchester is ‘boring’? ‘Boring’? Clearly you’ve never had the privilege of an afternoon in the Manchester Costume Gallery. And we needed a lie down after the excitement of the Museum of Transport. The Red Devils are currently 12/5 second favourites to regain the Premier League title, but clearly some quality reinforcements would go down nicely.

    Olympics

    - Moura won’t be going to Old Trafford, but one equally unlikely signing that won’t go away is Usain Bolt. Having claimed 100 metre gold on Sunday night, he has again expressed a desire to play for the club. He rates himself as a handy player, but obviously speed his main attribute and that may not be enough to become a world class player – as the career of Gabby Agbonlahor demonstrates. “People think I am joking, but if Alex Ferguson called me up and said, ‘OK let’s do this, come and have a trial’, it would be impossible for me to say no,” explained Bolt, teeing up the inevitable freebie day out at Old Trafford. Bolt has a better chance of winning the 200 metres and his challenge for more gold begins this morning where he’s 1/7 favourite to win the event.

    - After vanishing off the face of the planet for the last couple of weeks, it’s good to see Phillips Idowu is alive and possibly well. He’s been struggling with injury, but today he will begin his bid to improve on the silver medal he won the triple jump at the Beijing Olympics. After being labelled the ‘Invisible Man’ by Team GB head coach, Charles van Commenee for failing to show up at a Team GB training camp in Portugal last month, he is apparently fit enough to take his chance in the event. He’s rated the 6/1 3rd favourite to win gold.

    Olympic Cycling/Crying

    - At the Velodrome, Team Awesome are expected to hoover up a few more medals, especially with track cycling legends Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton in action. It’s Pendleton’s last outing as she is retiring after the Olympics. Hoy is red hot 4/11 favourite to win the rather surreal Men’s Keirin event whilst Pendleton is an even hotter 1/5 to win the Women’s Sprint. We’re not taking bets on her crying at some point as it’s absolutely guaranteed.

    - There’s plenty of Irish interest today with Derval O’Rourke going in the semi-finals of he 100 metre hurdles (7.15pm). A gold medal is asking a lot at 100/1, but an appearance in the final would be a nice reward after struggling with injury over the last couple of years. Michael Conlan is on the verge of securing Ireland’s third boxing medal of the Olympics. He’s 1/2 to beat Nordine Oubaali of France at around 9pm this evening, a result which would put him in a semi-final and ensure a place on the lowest step of the podium at the very least.

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    Kenny Egan: Barnes and Conlon are semi-final bound

    by on August 6, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    THE GOLDEN AIM: Paddy Barnes is hoping for more success in the ring

    Katie Taylor and John Joe Nevin are already in to their semi-finals but Michael Conlon and Paddy Barnes on the verge of guaranteeing bronze medals of their own. At least. Beijing silver medalist Kenny Egan gives us his thoughts on how both fighters will get on in their quarter-final bouts.

    Michael Conlon (Ire) v Nordine Oubaali (Fra) – Tues 9pm
    Men’s Flyweight quarter-final (52 kg)

    Conlon has beaten Oubaali twice before so he’s definitely the favorite in this match up and both times he beat him from the southpaw stance. Conlon’s usually an orthodox fighter but I think he’ll come out and box Oubaali in the southpaw stance because it seems to work for him.

    He was a bit rusty in his first fight, I think the nerves of being at the Olympic games got to him but it was the perfect opponent for him. Despite winning 19-8 against the Ghanaian fighter I think he’s a much better boxer than he showed in that bout.

    Oubaali won a bronze medal in Beijing so this is going to be a hard fight for Conlon. This is the Olympic quarter-finals so everybody is really pushing for podium finishes.

    Hopefully he’ll get in to the ring and blow this guy away.

  • Michael Conlon – 1/2
  • Nordine Oubaali – 6/4

    • Paddy Barnes (Ire) v Devendro Singh (Ind) – Wed 8.45pm
    Men’s light flyweight quarter-final (49kg)

    I watched Singh’s 16-11 win over the Mongolian Serdamba Purevdorjand he did very well. He’s a strong kid who likes to brawl and Paddy Barnes is going to have to be very, very clever in this one. Use a tight-guard, peek-a-boo style defense and try and steal points from this kid.

    It’s going to be a tough fight this one and it’s hard to call.

    Paddy barnes is going to need to get a good start like he did in his last fight against Essomba. He needs to get out early but a tight defense is key. He can’t give away any early, silly points and if he gets the lead, Singh is renowned for getting sloppy and he’s bound to make some mistakes. Paddy will just need to pick those scores and keep picking away.

    In his last fight Paddy went straight out in to the ring and held his ground. He had a perfect plan and utilized a tight guard. The first two rounds are what won him the fight, in the last round he was just maintaining his lead. He had no real problems in that fight but this going to a big test and a far different kind of fight. Singh is going to come to scrap and it’s up to Barnes to keep that defense tight.

    If he boxes to his potential then Barnes is well worth a bet to win this fight.

  • Paddy Barnes – 8/11
  • Devendro Singh – evens

    • tn_kenny_egan

    Kenny Egan hails unbeatable Katie Taylor

    by on August 6, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    GOING FOR GOLD!! Katie Taylor, four-time World and five-time European champion, leads Ireland’s medal hopes in London (pic: Inpho)

    Kenny gives us his thoughts on Katie Taylor’s Olympic quarter-final lightweight fight against Britain’s Natasha Jonas. Mon 2.30pm BBCi/RTE2

    Natasha Jones is improving as a fighter. She fought Katie last year and she was only beaten 6-3 which is a small margin. The fact that it’s on her home soil means the stadium is going to be electrifying with so many British fans cheering her on. I just Katie gets a fair crack of the whip with the judges. They can be easily influenced as we’ve seen before.

    It’s going to be a great day for Irish boxing but for Katie Taylor in particular. She has worked so hard to get where she is today and I’m really looking forward to this fight.

    On Jonas’ claims that she and Katie are the best at their weight

    I don’t agree with that. She is great but Katie Taylor is out on her own at the moment. She has four World titles and five European titles so she’s out on her own. There’s another girl in the weight class from China, Dong Chieng, who is a very good fighter too.

    Today it’s all about getting a good start. This is over four two minute rounds, not three three minute rounds like the men, so Katie Taylor needs to get a good start in the first round and build on the lead.

    I think she’s going to have way too much class for this girl.

    Do you see the judging being an issue?

    With Katie over the last number of years we’ve often seen her win in third and fourth gear, I think it’s time for Katie to show the world how she can move up through those gears. this is what we’re going to see today. We’re going to see a Katie Taylor that we’ve never seen before. She’s not going to leave this to the judges. She’s going to win this comfortably I’d say. She’s going to pull out all the stops, get in there and do the business.

    She can win every round.

    How will she handle the pressure?

    She has taken it in her stride. Her father is brilliant in guarding her form all the media attention. It’s a close knit family there.

    She’s just keeping her self focused on the task at hand right now, which is the fight today against Natasha Jonas. She’s not thinking about finals or gold medals, she just wants to get in there today and perform. Once she performs to her best there’s no one in the world who can beat her.

  • Betting: Boxing
  • Betting: Olympics

    • Katie Taylor 20/5/2012

    Betting News: Greene, Taylor and more Olympics

    by on August 6, 2012 in Boxing, Cycling, Olympics, Sportsbook

    A morning update from the Paddy Power Blog on all the latest betting moves in sport

    Boxing

    John Joe Nevin has guaranteed Ireland’s first Olympic medal in the boxing by qualifying for the bantamweight semi-finals but it is Katie Taylor who carries a nation’s hopes of glory on her shoulders. The Bray fighter is as close to a sure thing as Ireland has ever had at an Olympic games.

    The five time European champions and four-time World champion faces Team GB’s Natasha Jonas in the lightweight quarter-finals today after the British fighter impressively battled past the aggressive American Queen Underwood in her first fight. At this level there are no easy fights but Taylor’s experience and class see her as a massive 1/14 favorite to book her own semi-final place. Jonas is a good fighter but Taylor is one of the best women’s boxing has ever seen.

    British fighters top the betting the other two women’s divisions with Savannah Marshall the top seed in the middleweight division at 7/4 and Nicola Adams the 6/4 favorite to win flyweight gold. Both women fight today. Marshall opens her games against Kazakhstan fight Marina Volnova and Adams faces Bulgarian Stoyka Petrova.

    Anthony Ogogo is back in action following his stunning, though nail-biting, win over middleweight number one Ievgen Khytrov. He faces the conqueror of Ireland’s Darren O’Neill, the German Stefan Hartel in the quarter-finals tonight as is now a 5/1 shot to win gold. The British fighter looks good to at least secure a bronze against Hartel.

    Team GB super-heavyweight Joshua Anthony won his first fight over the Cuban Erislandy Savon by a single point and will need to improve if he’s to win gold, something he’s the 5/4 favorite to do. Expect a better showing against the Chinese fighter Zhilei Zhang tonight otherwise his games will be over.

    Athletics

    Dai Greene qualified for the men’s 400m hurdles final as the final fastest-loser and will need a massive improvement if he’s to stand a chance of adding the Olympic crown to his European and World Championship victories. The Welsh runner is 10/1 to win gold with the in-form Puerto Rican Javier Culson a strong 5/4 favorite. Greene is in the race so he can’t be discounted but Culson may be too strong for him to have a chance at gold.

    Holly Bleasdale is a 12/1 shot to win the women’s pole vault later this evening. though she faces a tough task out performing the 8/15 favorite Elena Isinbaeva. The British vaulter has the 4th best women’s vault of all time and if things click for her, she could add a surprise gold to the haul.

    Cycling

    Britain are dominating cycling across all events at the moment and Jason Kenny will attempt to continue the trend in the eagerly awaited men’s sprint. Kenny is the 2/5 favorite but expect an exciting battle with the seven-time track world champion Gregory Bauge.

  • Betting: Olympics

    • tn_kenny_egan

    Kenny Egan gives his thoughts on John Joe Nevin’s 1/4-final bout

    by on August 5, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    John Joe Nevin

    UPPERCUT: John Joe Nevin recovered from this blow to advance to the Olympic quarter-finals (pic:Inpho)

    Ireland boxing medal hopeful John Joe Nevin faces Mexican fighter Oscar Valdez Ferrera tonight in the men’s bantamweight quarter-finals. The 23-year old from Westmeath is one win away from guaranteeing a medal but the way he has performed so far he will be aiming for a gold medal. Beijing silver medalist Kenny Egan gave us his thought’s on Nevin’s fight.

    He’s flying at the moment. His first fight was a bit of a warm up but against the Kazakh he had the perfect game plan. He’s really looking good. He’s going to have a hard customer this time round in the Mexican. It’ll be a tough fight for him but for me he has to use his legs for nine minutes. John Joe Nevin is going to be worked really hard by this guy Valdez. He’s a war horse who likes to come and trade and fight. I’ve been speaking to Nevin needs o be on his toes for the full nine minutes. Use that ring, move left, move right and stay out of harms way but I really think he can go on and do this.

    Should he be favorite?

    Yes he should be favorite. He’s twice a medalist at the World championships, 2009 and 2011. so he should be favorite and I’d definitely back him to win this bout.

    On the possibility of Nevin facing the Cuban outright favorite Alvarez Estrada in the semi-finals.

    John Joe isn’t one for jumping the gun so he’ll want to get this one out of the way first but I’ve seen the Cuban box myself and I believe Nevin has what it takes to beat this guy but he has to get past Valdez first.

  • Betting: John Joe Nevin vs Oscar Valdez Fierro
    • murray_tn

    Betting News: Murray, Bolt and some golf

    by on August 5, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics, Sportsbook

    Morning update from the Paddy Power Blog on top betting action of the day

    TEARS TO A CROWN: Murray is back on centre court in search of two Olympic golds (pic: BBC)

    Olympics

    Team GB will be hard pressed to match Saturday’s success but there could very well be more gold medals on the cards for the home nations.

    Having made it to his first Wimbledon final this year Andy Murray has two more to look forward to today as he competes in both the men’s final and the mixed doubles final. Murray will be facing Roger Federer on centre court again and is 11/8 to gain some revenge for his Wimbledon final defeat as well as winning an Olympic gold medal. He’ll then partner Laura Robson in the mixed doubles final against Belarusian pair Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi. Murray and Robson have made a habit of getting themselves in to nail bitters in this tournament but they’ve always found enough to win. The British pair are 5/4 to win gold.

    There is also the prospect of two more golds on the water. Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson are leading going in to the medal race in the sailing Olympic Star title event. The pair are a massive 1/18 favorites to defend their Olympic title. In the Men’s Finn Ben Ainslie is in search of his 4th Olympic gold and is the 4/9 favorite to hold off the challenge of the Danish sailor Jonas Hogh-Christensen.

    Today is also the day we finally see women’s boxing at the Olympic games. Ireland’s boxing star Katie Taylor won’t be fighting today but she will find out her first opponent when American Quintitta Underwood and British fighter Natasha Jones meet in the women’s lightweight quarter-finals. Jones is the 4/6 favorite to progress.

    Ireland’s John Joe Nevin is one fight away from a guaranteed medal (pic: Inpho)


    In the men’s boxing Ireland’s John Joe Nevin takes on Mexicos Oscar Valdez Fierro in the quarter-finals of the men’s bantamweight division. Britain’s Luke Campbell faces Bulgaria’s Detelin Dalakliev in the same event. Both fighters are strong favorites to guarantee themselves at least a bronze with Nevin at 4/9 and Campbell 2/7.

    Perhapa the highlight of the day will be the semi-finals and final of the men’s 100m. All eyes will be on Usain Bolt as he battles to hold on to his Olympic crown. His countryman and training partner Yohan Blake is his biggest threat and the Jamaican pair could well push each other to new world record in the final. Bolt is a narrow 8/11 favorite to win with Blake at 13/8. It’s difficult to look beyond either of these runners for the gold but the bronze is a little more open. British youngster Adam Gemili is 25/1 to win a medal and Dwain Chambers is 40/1. The way things have been going for Team GB on the track you never know.

    Golf

    Jim Furyk leads the way in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational on 11 under par, one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen. The American leader is a narrow 6/5 favorite ahead of the South African who is price at 6/5. Rory McIlroy remains in touch on six under par and is currently 11/1 to win. English pair Justin Rose (-5) and Luke Donald will still be harboring hopes of success but they’ll need Furyk and Oosthuizen to slip up if they’re to have a chance. Rose is 401 and Donald is 66/1 to win.

    tn_kenny_egan

    Kenny Egan previews today’s Olympic boxing betting

    by on August 1, 2012 in Boxing, Olympics

    SOMETHING IN THE EIRE: John Joe Nevin (Red) after beating Dennis Ceylan (Blue) of Denmark

    Ireland’s Olympic silver medal winner Kenny Egan gives his thoughts to the Paddy Power Blog in today’s boxing betting featuring Irish and Great British fighters. Both camps have realistic expectations of winning medals in London and we see Ireland’s bantamweight prospect John Joe Nevin (23) taking on Kazakhstani fighter Kanat Abutalipov (29) early in the day. Tonight team GB’s Anthony Joshua (22) faces off against the Cuban Erislandy Savon (22) in the Super Heavyweight division.

    John Joe Nevin v Kanat Abutalipov (Bantamweight 56kg)

    The Kazakhstani isn’t a bad kid. They boxed before in 2009 and John Joe came out on top. He beat Abutalipov 15-2 in that competition so he has one up on him but he still has to be very cautious going in to today’s bout. It’s the Olympics so anything can happen but I really fancy John Joe to move on to the next round at 2/9.

    John Joe Nevin: 2/9
    Kanat Abutalipov: 3/1

    Anthony Joshua V Erislandy Cotilla Savon (Super Heavyweight 96kg)

    Erislandy Cotilla Savon is a World Youth champion so I wouldn’t write him off. He’s related to the great Felix Savon so he has the pedigree to pull off a surprise. Anthony Joshua is still a young lad and he’s improved a lot over the last 12 months but you’re always in for a tough night facing a Cuban. It is going to be a tough one but I see Joshua going through.

    Anthony Joshua: 1/3
    Erislandy Cotilla Savon: 21/10

    broner4345

    VIDEO: Boxer Adrien Broner pulls off a classic fake proposal

    by on July 24, 2012 in Boxing

    99 PROBLEMS: Just the one is enough for Broner’s former girlfriend

    Adrien Broner’s nickname in the ring is ‘The Problem’ which is probably pretty accurate after recent events.

    Broner was due to defend his WBO Super Featherweight title against fellow American Vicente Escobedo in Ohio at the weekend but was struck with a serious case of the munchies. Unfortunately for ‘The Problem’ it appeared he was having plenty of difficulty making the weight and eventually crashed in three-and-a-half pounds over the limit.

    Following a tweet Broner had sent out prior to the fight we have a sneaky suspicion why the 22-year-old was carrying a few extra pounds.

    TWINKIES: A delicious snack for people who write blogs, but not so good when you’re trying to defend the Super Featherweight title

    Broner was striped of his title on the spot and fined $60,000 for eating to many of the tasty snacks and it looked like the fight was off. However Broner’s camp gave Escobedo a whopping $250,000 (the equivalent to one million Twinkies) to let the fight go ahead and the bout was back on.

    Unsurprisingly, given his advantage ‘The Problem’ gave Escobedo an absolute pounding, breaking his nose in the process, before in the fifth round he won by a technical knock-out. This took Broner’s record to an impressive 24-0 with 20 KO’s as he looks to step up to lightweight and a possible bout with Antonio DeMarco or Ricky Burns.

    After the match Adrien Broner decided to pull a little attention-seeking exercise at the expense of his girlfriend Arie Nicole. The boxer dropped down to one knee and invited Nicole over, waffling on a bit as if he was about to pop the question. Instead of asking for her hand in marriage though Broner asked her if she would brush his hair, a signature ritual of the former champ.

    Broner cracked himself up but got a mixed reaction from Arie who was obviously quite uncomfortable with all the shenanigans. His antics outside the ring won’t endear him to the fans but you can’t argue with his record between the ropes. He’s walking the walk and backing it up with an arrogant swagger and an attitude that screams ‘I couldn’t give a monkeys’. Or something of that nature.

    Unfortunately for the brawler his comedy antics didn’t go down well once the cameras had  gone, and he took to twitter to announce he was once again free and single and ready to mingle.

    DATING TIP #43: Pretending to propose but then asking your girlfriend to brush your hair on national TV will not end well

    If he could stay off the Twinkies and keep his focus Broner could certainly be one of the rising stars of the ring.

     

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