February 19 is going to be an important date for Canadian heavyweight Simon Kean. Sportsbooks will have him as the favorite to defeat Shawndell Terrel Winters when they meet at the Montreal Casino.
There’s been some good UFC fights this year, now it’s time for boxing to take the centre stage. Kean comes into this fight with a professional record of 20 wins and one defeat and top statistics website Boxrec have him currently ranked 30th in the heavyweight division.
The 33-year-old had a good amateur career and reached the quarter finals of the 2012 Olympics Super Heavyweight tournament. He had a win over Tony Yoka in the first round of the London event. Should we bet on the pair meeting again sometime in the future? Yoka is ranked fifth by the IBF and the Frenchman has won all 11 of his professional fights.
Kean lost to Ivan Dychko in the last eight in Rio. If he’d won that fight, his next opponent would have been the eventual gold medalist and world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Dychko is also a pro boxer now and unbeaten in his 10 fights.
It’d be interesting to see who the sportsbooks would tip to win if Kean was to face Dychko in the pro ranks. Betting on sport is becoming very popular with Canadians. If wanting to bet on boxing, make sure you get hold of the best bet365 offers.
The Canadian turned professional in November 2015. Anyone betting on him to win in the first round saw their bets come up in his first two professional contests. His first seven professional fights all ended inside the distance. Any wagers on that happening in his eighth bout were losers. Kean had to go the full eight rounds to beat Avery Gibson, but he was a clear winner on all three scorecards.
June 2017 saw Kean win his first professional title. He beat Marcelo Nascimento in five rounds to win the vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight belt. His record reached 14-0 before more titles came his way. Kean beat Adam Braidwood in just three rounds to add the vacant WBC Francophone heavyweight title to his Inter-Continental title.
Those used to collecting their winnings after betting on a Kean fight were to be disappointed in October 2018. He defended his Francophile title against Dillon Caiman in a fight that was also for the vacant NABA heavyweight belt.
Kean suffered a fourth-round knockout and lost his unbeaten record. When that happens, the odds on you getting more title shots suddenly lengthen. Kean battled back though and two fights later, he got revenge on Caiman, beating him in three rounds in June 2019.
The win got him back into title contention. December of 2019 saw him up against Siarhei Liakhovich for the vacant WBC International Silver title. That’s a belt that has been held in the past by fighters such as Dillian Whyte, Mahmoud Charr and Robert Helenius. Kean added his name to that list by beating Liakhovich with a stoppage in the tenth and final round.
Kean has only had two fights in the past couple of years. 2020 saw him defend his title with a third-round win over Daniel Martz. The last chance to bet on Kean was a fourth-round win over Don Haynesworth last June.
Now he returns to the ring and just cannot afford to lose to Winters. A win could get him a fight against a much higher ranked boxer in the future. Winters has a professional record of 13 wins and six defeats. The odds will be short on a win for Kean over the 41-year-old.
Winters made his professional debut just a few months before Kean. Fighting in the cruiserweight division, he built up a record of 8-0 before being knocked out in two rounds by Brian Howard in October 2017.
A second defeat followed in April 2019, losing a narrow points decision (one judge called it a draw) to Nikodem Jezewski. He was campaigning as a heavyweight the following year but those backing him to beat former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker were to be disappointed. Winters was stopped in five rounds.
That was the first of four straight losses for Winters. One was in the back garden of the mansion owned by promoter Eddie Hearn as he lost to Alen Babic in just two rounds. His last fight was in August 2021, losing a ten-rounder against Cassius Chaney on points.
Kean certainly can’t afford to lose this fight. Winters is on a downward spiral and It’s hard to bet on him to cause a shock here. There are some good fights out there for Kean if he can string some wins together, that should start on the 19th.
Photo: The Heavyweight Boxing Scene
