Chris Bourke vs Ashley Lane: Betting Odds & Prediction
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London's Chris Bourke (13-1, 8KOs) and Northampton's Ashley Lane (17-10-2, 2KOs) collide for the vacant British Bantamweight title at York Hall on Friday.
The pair headline a Queensberry Promotions card which also features light-heavyweight Willy Hutchinson.
Tale of the Tape
Bourke enters on the back of three consecutive victories, two of which ended inside the distance. The 29-year-old previously contested for the British title at super-bantamweight, but lost a unanimous decision to Marc Leach back in March 2022. The defeat remains Bourke's only loss in 14 professional outings.
Eight of his 13 wins have came via stoppage, leaving Bourke with a 61.54% knockout ratio heading into the bout. He has only ever fought over the full twelve-round distance once, with that one time being the loss to Leach two years ago.
Fighting talk from both men ⚔️@C_Bourke94 and Ashley Lane shared some words during their face off 👀#BourkeLane | Friday | York Hall, London pic.twitter.com/g1fQahFClT
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) March 21, 2024
Lane has also contested for the British super-bantamweight title in May 2019 when he was stopped in the twelfth-round by the then champion Brad Foster. Lane has fought five times since, winning four and losing one. The loss came via fourth-round stoppage to Rio Olympian Qais Ashfaq in December, 2020.
The 33-year-old Lane has won three on the bounce since, however, winning four-round points decisions in 2021 and 2022 before handing Jordan Purkiss his first career defeat with a seventh-round stoppage win in June last year.
The victory was only Lane's second inside the distance, though, leaving him with an 11.7% knockout ratio across his 17 career victories.
Prediction
Despite Lane's resurgence in form and the impressive victory over Purkiss, it's Bourke who no doubt heads into the bout a strong favourite. The bookmakers agree, with some offering a Lane victory at 8/1. Though the latter has already suffered ten defeats, only six have ended prematurely. Of those six, five came past the fourth round. The only exception was a third-round TKO loss back in October, 2011.
There's little value in backing Bourke on the moneyline, but expect the Londoner to be made to work for the title before forcing a stoppage.