Jonathan Oquendo vs. Jamel Herring – 9/5/20 Boxing Pick, Odds, and Prediction 

Jamel Herring and Jonathan Oquendo fight Tuesday at the MGM Grand for the WBO junior lightweight title.

Jamel Herring enters this fight with a 21-2 record that includes 10 knockouts. Herring has won each of his last five fights, and he’s coming off a November win over Lamont Roach. Herring is coming off a comfortable victory in his last bout where he defended his belt for the first time. Herring hasn’t lost since his 2017 bout against Ladarius Miller and each of his last four fights have gone the distance. Herring is a 34-year-old southpaw who stands at 5’10” and has a 70-inch reach. Herring is a shifty boxer who slips punches well and does some of his best work on counters. Herring works the body well and does a good job of slipping in and out. Herring doesn’t have terrific quickness or power, but he puts together combinations when he throws shots and usually lands at a solid percentage. As he continues to get up there in age, Herring is going to rely on his defense more and more as he picks his spots to win on the scorecards. This will be Herring’s fifth career fight in Nevada.  

Jonathan Oquendo enters this fight with a 31-6 record that includes 19 knockouts. Oquendo has won five of his last six fights, and he’s coming off a November win over Charles Huerta. Oquendo is coming off a dominant performance where the judges gave him all 10 rounds, so it’s safe to say he bounced back quite nicely from his loss to Lamont Roach. Oquendo is a 36-year-old Puerto Rican who stands at 5’4”, has a 67-inch reach and an orthodox stance. Oquendo is a boxer who likes to stand in the pocket and throw a variety of shots, and he has some underrated power with eight of his last 13 victories ending in stoppages. Oquendo jumps on his opponent when he has the chance and can end things quickly with a flurry of shots. The issue here is that Oquendo is getting at that age where things tend to end badly for boxers, so it’s important he doesn’t take a lot of punishment. This will be Oquendo’s eighth career fight in Las Vegas.

I have an issue in having a lot of confidence in older fighters, as things usually end badly for aging boxers, especially when fighting higher caliber opponents. Oquendo doesn’t have the power he once had and I’m not sure he’s had enough reps against upper tier opponents to handle a bout like this. Herring is getting up there in age as well, but he’s still swift defensively and puts his punches together crisp based on his last bout. Herring also has a reach advantage in this fight.

Herring doesn’t have the power to end things, but he should win this bout in UD.