Coe vs Hart Predictions: Battle-tested Hart will bring out Coe’s best

Khalil Coe looks to continue his resurgence on Saturday, January 24, as he takes on Jesse Hart. The fight serves as the co-main event at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas in Nevada. DAZN will screen a card headlined by Raymond Muratalla’s IBF lightweight title defence against Andy Cruz.

Read further for my Coe vs Hart predictions ahead of this light heavyweight match-up.

Coe vs Hart Odds

Coe is a big favourite at 1/8, but he has faltered from such footing before. Hart is priced at 11/2 while the draw is available at 18/1.

Coe vs Hart Fight Preview

Coe exorcised his demons last time out, as he conquered the one man to beat him as a professional. In November 2024, Mexican gatekeeper Manuel Gallegos sent the touted prospect down to the canvas on four occasions, securing a shock ninth-round TKO win. 

It was a huge upset, considering Coe’s amateur pedigree. Here was the first fighter to stop two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time World Amateur Champion Julio Cesar De La Cruz in the unpaid ranks. But power is a great leveller and Gallegos had plenty. After a brutal rout, Coe was left to pick up the pieces.

You would have forgiven the New Jersey pugilist for taking an alternative route to the top. For coming back against a journeyman foe to get his confidence back. But Coe went into the eye of the storm that had destroyed all he had built. ‘Big Steppa’ stepped into Gallegos’ home country of Mexico last May and knocked out his rival in six rounds. 

It was a superb display from Coe. Precise, controlled, punishing. The well-schooled star boxed behind a ramrod jab that pounded the resistance out of Gallegos. The Mexican was withdrawn on his stool. Coe was back.

So to another tricky test. Another fight where Coe is expected to win. But after the first Gallegos fight, every ‘Big Steppa’ sighting carries with it some risk. While the 29-year-old is back in the world rankings, there is still more to show before you’d back him against the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

It is an unforgiving division these days. The 175-pound class boasts quality everywhere you look. Beyond Bivol and Beterbiev, the era-defining rivals, there is a bevy of brilliant boxers.

WBA kingpin David Benavidez appears to be heading to cruiserweight, but Liverpool’s world-class Callum Smith holds the WBO interim title. ‘Mundo’ has been ordered to defend that crown against quality former two-weight world champion David Morrell. 

Britain’s Ben Whittaker and Joshua Buatsi are sniffing around the upper reaches of the rankings. Former WBC kingpin Oleksandr Gvozdyk is a handful for anyone. Germany’s Michael Eifert is currently making enough waves to become Bivol’s IBF mandatory. 

It is against this backdrop that Coe looks to establish himself. Hart is a step in the right direction. The 28-3 campaigner is on a good run, racking up five consecutive victories with four knockouts.

Hart is perhaps best-known for his losses, but they have come in close fights against world-class opposition. ‘Hard Work’ has shared exactly that with current WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez. Hart and ‘Zurdo’ shared two WBO super middleweight title fights in 2017/18. Both were devilishly close, with Ramirez emerging with one unanimous decision and one majority nod.

Hart’s other loss came at the hands of former WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr, the American competitor who handed Bernard Hopkins the final loss of his career. That was another close contest, with Hart agonisingly dropping a split decision to Smith.

There are quality wins on the resume too. Hart holds a points victory over perennial contender Sullivan Barrera and a seven-round TKO of Demond Nicholson. 

At the age of 36 and having recently competed solely in eight-round fights, there is an inference that Hart is coming to the end. But if there is one thing Coe learned from his 2024 struggles, it is that there is no room for complacency in boxing. Hart will bring his best. He always does. But this time, Coe will be ready.

Coe vs Hart Full Card

Raymond Muratalla vs Andy Cruz

Khalil Coe vs Jesse Hart

Israil Madrimov vs Luis David Salazar

Omari Jones vs Jerome Baxter

Ronny Alvarez vs Braulio Matias Ferreira

Kaipo Gallegos vs Wilson Akinocho

Zaquin Moses vs Leandro Damian Medina

Coe vs Hart Prediction

Hart calls himself ‘Hard Work’ and I think that is exactly what this will be for Coe. He is in there with a man who has experienced it all as a top-level light heavyweight. 

But I expect the tidy, quietly-vicious Coe of the Gallegos rematch to be the one that turns up here. A fighter who will have no patience for Hart’s road warrior tricks. If Coe can get that piston of a jab firing, I think he takes this one at 1/8.

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