Herring vs. Stevenson betting odds, preview, and pick

Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson will face off for the WBO junior lightweight title in Atlanta on Oct. 23.

Boxing’s brightest young star will take on a resilient champion, and we have the preview and a pick before the first bell.

Stevenson might be too slick for his own good

The undefeated Stevenson has garnered high praise for his boxing talent, though he recently came under fire for a dreadfully boring performance. That performance, a one-sided win over Jeremiah Nakathila, left many on the verge of a coma from the lack of action.

Stevenson's ceiling is high, as he captured a recognized title in just his 13th pro fight, and he is a heavy favorite in this bout. He is a slick operator who possesses great hand speed and movement, but his easiest path to victory might be to utilize his underdeveloped killer instinct.

Herring enters off his best win

Herring put many of his critics to rest in a statement win over the smaller, faded Carl Frampton in April. While Frampton clearly was past his prime, nobody expected Herring to completely dominate the former two-division champion with such ease and precision ahead of a sixth-round TKO.

Freakishly tall for the weight class, Herring is a disciplined boxer with a conventional style and doesn’t take a lot of risks. While he doesn’t do well under pressure, he may benefit from Stevenson’s methodical pacing.

Stevenson will deliver a mixed bag in victory

This fight features a champion who has an aversion to fighting under pressure and a challenger who is more than willing to take it slow and steady. The combination of Herring’s lack of power and willingness to engage in a conventional boxing match makes this a lock for the 24-year-old challenger.

Expect a match that lacks the two-way action we’ve seen in recent fights. We’ll have to settle for two cautious fighters pawing and pivoting for 12 rounds. Maybe Stevenson will want to make a statement, once he realizes Herring can’t hurt him and can’t figure him out, but we’ll likely have to settle for a distance bout.

Stevenson is the all-around better fighter. The speed, angles, and defensive prowess is just too much for a rudimentary fighter like Herring to handle. Expect Stevenson to pitch a shutout and win by a wide margin on the scorecards.

Boxing pick: Stevenson