Stephen McKenna vs Lee Cutler Predictions: Bitter rivals finally meet in the ring

Stephen McKenna faces Lee Cutler this Saturday, December 14 in a fight built on animosity. The super welterweight showdown takes place at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre on the undercard of Natsha Jonas’ IBF/WBC welterweight unification bout with Ivana Habazin. Sky Sports Main Event will broadcast the event live.

Here are my McKenna vs Cutler predictions ahead of this hotly-anticipated clash.

Something called the WBC international silver championship is on the line in this clash. But this transcends any sanctioning body jiggery-pokery. On a good-natured and respectful card, this one stands out as a truly personal bout. 

The pair have lit the touchpaper whenever they have come face to face in the build-up. This is a war of words that feels likely to spill over into a war of fists. Sometimes, you feel like such enmity is being used as a ticket-shifting mechanism. But given the strength of their verbal exchanges and the fact both men like a tear-up, this could steal the show.

McKenna scored his 14th knockout in 15 wins last time out, wowing the Sky Sports audience and raising his profile in the process. The Irishman climbed off the canvas to stop Joe Laws in three frenetic rounds in a star-enhancing display. 

Cutler was in the wars last time out too. He survived a cut to outscore Kingsley Egbunike for the English title. It was a bruising encounter but one in which Cutler emerged victorious. As with McKenna, it was a thrilling display in a televised fight. The sort of thing that gets you prominent fights such as the one on Saturday.

Trying to glean a winner from their admittedly-absorbing verbals is a pointless exercise. Both seem confident and determined. What matters is when the bell rings. On an exciting evening of action, this one could be the most entertaining of the bunch.

The power advantage belongs to McKenna, who has only allowed one opponent to hear the final bell. That was in a clean-sweep points win over six rounds. The sort of fight that McKenna could have finished with the fullness of time. It was also three years ago. You’d back the McKenna of late 2024 to get the job done sooner than his 2021 counterpart.

Another element in his favour is the fact that Cutler has been stopped before. His sole career defeat was a chastening first-round TKO loss to the excellent Bradley Rea. On reflection, facing the then-unbeaten Lancashireman was a tall order when Cutler’s opposition had largely been journeymen at that stage. 

But boxing is not always about the glistening ‘0’ on the record. Sometimes it is about overcoming adversity and Cutler has done a fine job of that. ‘Chaos’ has rattled off seven wins since the Rea defeat. These have included victories ranging from a six-round points win over world title challenger-turned-journeyman Joel Julio to a 10-round unanimous nod over unbeaten prospect Stanley Stannard.

But Cutler has never faced anyone like the KO-happy McKenna. This is a real test for both men. The pressure is on. The big-card setting and war of the words has seen to that. But when the talking stops, someone is going to have to do something special to win this one.

McKenna vs Cutler Fight Odds

McKenna is 2/9 to get a big win on Saturday night. Cutler is marketed at 3/1 while you can take a punt on honours being shared at 16/1.

McKenna vs Cutler Full Card

Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin

Lauren Price vs Bexcy Mateus

Stephen McKenna vs Lee Cutler

Mark Jeffers vs Elvis Ahorgah

Viddal Riley vs Steve Eloundou Ntere

Mason Cartwright vs Dzmitry Atrokhau

Frankie Stringer vs Tatenda Mangombe

Mikie Tallon vs Benn Norman

McKenna vs Cutler Prediction

I love picking fights like this. None of this prospect vs journeyman disparity or an untouchable world champion welcoming an unworthy challenger you’d be a fool to back. This is two proper fighting men with it all to lose.

I think that situation suits McKenna. The power, the confidence that radiates from the unbeaten man. I’m picking ‘The Hitman’ to find the target inside the distance at 4/6.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.