Daily Sports Betting Preview 7/16/2020: Top Rank Boxing, PGA Memorial Betting, AFL Betting

• ESPN’s Top Rank boxing card today is headlined by a fight between Felix Verdejo (-600) and Will Madera (+400).
• The three-ball betting group between Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka is weighted towards McIlroy, at +125 odds.
• In the AFL, the Essendon Bombers are +100 underdogs to the Western Bulldogs, who have -120 odds.

LAS VEGAS - Today’s Thursday edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview once again covers three excellent sports betting opportunities.

First, the Preview takes a look at tonight’s boxing, courtesy of Top Rank on ESPN, specifically the matchup between Will Madera and Felix Verdejo.

Then, the Preview turns to the PGA, and the three-ball pairings for the first round of The Memorial, which kicks off today.

Finally, the Preview examines a matchup in the AFL, Australia’s (Aussie rules) football league, which features some great betting opportunities.

There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s get started!

ESPN Boxing Betting

Tonight’s card on ESPN’s Top Rank boxing event looks to be a fairly good one, and a lot of that is due to the headlining fight.

The card is topped off by Felix Verdejo’s faceoff with Will Madera, a battle of genuinely talented boxers that could lead to a title shot for the winner.

Madera is an undefeated fighter, with a record of 15-0-3, and looks to carry that unbeaten streak over Verdejo in this fight.

Verdejo, for his part, boasts a nearly unblemished record himself, at 26-1, with his one loss coming in 2018 at the hands of Antonio Lozada.

The odds for this fight don’t look to be as lopsided as some of the earlier Top Rank main event odds were.

The above odds are from BetOnline’s sportsbook, and this is being pointed out to drive home the idea that shopping lines on this fight could be a good idea.

For example, keeping those above odds in mind, here are the odds from Bovada’s sportsbook:

There is a small but significant gap between the two, such that Madera bettors will be best suited to using BetOnline, and Verdejo bettors will find the best value at Bovada.

The gap in payouts is 10% for Verdejo bettors, and a little over 20% for Madera bettors, and that’s a fairly significant gap.

The fight looks to be compelling, and there are quite a few edges to be gained for the experienced boxing bettor.

The Memorial Three Ball Betting

The PGA has been back for a bit, and today’s tournament, The Memorial, marks the return of one Tiger Woods to the tour.

Woods has been notably absent for a bit now, but his reappearance could galvanize not just the attention paid to the Tour, but the world of golf betting as well.

With that in mind, let’s check out Woods’ three ball pairing for today’s first round of The Memorial.

Talk about a stacked group. It seems like they really went all out when it came to the three ball pairings this time around.

Leading the group is Rory McIlroy, with +125 odds to win it. McIlroy is trailed by both Woods at +205 and Brooks Koepka at +210.

One way to look at these odds is as a good chance to bet on the number one player in the world, at fairly decent odds.

McIlroy is currently ranked number one in the PGA, and both his average points and total points far outstrip the competition.

Koepka is ranked sixth in the PGA, while Woods is ranked 14th, although the effect of Woods’ celebrity status must be taken into account while examining these odds.

That said, McIlroy is by most accounts the best golfer in the world right now, and bettors can get action on him winning a tough group at more than even odds.

Koepka could also be worth a look here, with longer odds than Woods despite being higher ranked.

Overall, this is a very compelling group to wager on, and golf bettors should be excited for this tournament.

AFL Aussie Rules Betting

Turning now to the AFL, the Preview wants to shine a light on the matchup between the Western Bulldogs and the Essendon Bombers.

The Bulldogs and the Bombers are quite evenly matched according to the sportsbooks, but their records in this fledgling season tell a different story.

The online sportsbooks have the spread set as a pick-em, with some shading on the pick, making it roughly equivalent to a moneyline bet.

A good way to think of this matchup is that the Bulldogs are -120 moneyline favorites, while the Bombers have +100 odds.

Essendon are 4-1 on the season so far, good for fifth place in the AFL, while the Bulldogs clock in with a 3-3 record, which puts them at 12th place.

However, this is a bit misleading - a 3-3 record is the same as seventh-place St. Kilda Football Club, with the gap between the teams coming from tiebreakers.

In other words, Essendon might look a bit better than they are due to playing one less game, and the Bulldogs might look a bit worse than they are due to being tied on record with so many teams.

As the season continues, AFL bettors will have time to figure out whether these odds were right or wrong.

For now, though, the decision seems to be relatively tough, as far as the sportsbooks are concerned.

One thing to note, however, is that the Bulldogs % (the amount they score over the amount that is scored against them) is notably lower than that of the Bombers.

Scoring Percentage (Higher Is Better)

• Essendon Bombers 114.1
• Western Bulldogs 89.1

A team with a 100 scoring percentage would have scored as much as they concede, and the Bombers on the good side of 100, while the Bulldogs are on the bad side of 100.

AFL bettors should keep that in mind when wagering.

Happy Betting