Weekend Review: AJ’s points victory a knockout blow for punters

Anthony Joshua added the WBO crown to his heavyweight title collection with a unanimous points decision victory over Joseph Parker in Cardiff on Saturday, much to the delight of the layers.

Fans have become accustomed to seeing AJ dispatch his opponents with 20 knockouts in 20 fights to date, and punters were backing a similar outcome on Saturday night.

However, a patient Joshua and an overzealous referee meant the fight never really ignited.

BetVictor’s Charlie McCann said: “The big fight was a big let-down unless you were a bookmaker. Bet numbers were on a par with the Klitschko fight last year- but this time the result was a triumph for the layers.

“AJ told punters at the weigh-in that he would knock out the Kiwi but they never looked like collecting.

“Joshua needs a much better performance in his next fight – whoever that might be against – if the public are to keep the faith,” he added.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said the result was very good for the operator both pre-bout and in-play while William Hill’s Rupert Adams described the points victory as “the best possible result”.

“In the past we’ve seen big price winners like Bellew and Fury well punted, and there was a plunge on Parker on the lead up to the fight from 8/1 into 9/2,” said Freeth. “However, the bout going the distance was a perfect outcome for us.”

The fight was Betway’s highest turnover event of the bank holiday weekend according to Alan Alger, which was “no mean feat considering the amount of sport on offer”, he said.

“The fight going the distance meant that we cleared up on the rounds betting and our traders were shortest price Joshua on the outright markets – consequently we were slightly better off than most,” he added.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said the fight was the operator’s only highlight this weekend after taking a beating in the football as the Premier League’s top teams made light work of their opponents.

“It was a brutal weekend for Kindred in the Premier League as we lost on 9 out of the 10 matches played, with Arsenal’s late flurry of goals costing us by a distance the biggest chunk.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, Spurs hugely important win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was our only vague salvation.

“Anthony Joshua going the distance for the first time in his career was just the tonic we needed though and left us way ahead across the fight, with large lumps of money on the early rounds from our players,” he added.