Garner vs Dillon Predictions: ‘Piranha’ packs a bite

Ryan Garner defends his WBC international super featherweight title against Liam Dillon this Saturday, May 11. The legendary York Hall in Bethnal Green, London will play host to this well-matched domestic clash. You can watch the action unfold live on TNT Sports 1 on a show headlined by Denzel Bentley vs Danny Dignum.

Here are my Garner vs Dillon predictions ahead of a potential super featherweight thriller.

‘Piranha’ Garner has passed every test during his 14-fight pro career. Showing a dangerous whack and tidy skills, the Southampton lad has looked accomplished thus far. The 26-year-old is eyeing up a stacked division at British level as he seeks to advance.

The super featherweight limit boasts an embarrassment of British riches. Next week, the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard will play host to an all-British IBF world title fight at the weight. Wales’ Joe Cordina defends the famous red belt against Belfast’s Anthony Cacace.

Former featherweight world champion Leigh Wood now plies his trade at 130-pounds. Zelfa Barrett is world-ranked and has just strengthened his claim with an excellent win over the dangerous Jordan Gill. Archie Sharp is unbeaten and impressing. Super featherweight is a division in which you can crash the world rankings without even leaving the country.

Dillon is another fighter who probably once looked at this stacked domestic division as one that was there for the taking. Until his last fight, he was the reigning British super featherweight king. But Reece Belotti dethroned him in a bout where the Commonwealth title was also on the line. That unanimous decision setback was the first loss of Dillon’s career. Now the 28-year-old looks to rebuild against the high-flying Garner.

Dillon is a little further ahead in his professional journey than Garner. Wins over Qais Ashfaq for the British title and then-unbeaten Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab stand out. The Chingford man has largely competed in 10 and 12-rounders since 2019. He is used to championship-distance fights and the quality of competition found at that level.

Garner boxed a scheduled 10-rounder for the first time in his last bout. While the fact he knocked Juan Jesus Antunez out in three rounds reflects well on his ability, it does mean he comes into this one short of long-fight experience. ‘Piranha’ has a brace of points wins in eight-round fights on his record, but is yet to be extended further.

Dillon looks well-placed to do just that. The 28-year-old is tough and durable. He’s never been down and it would be a turn-up for the books if he didn’t hear the final bell here. I can see Dillon more than holding his own in what looks poised to be a thoroughly competitive fight.

For Garner this will likely be the toughest bout of his career so far. He takes on a former British champion who has lost just once and is rarely hurt. All but two of Garner’s fights have come against boxers with losing records. His initial experiments with a move up in class have gone well, but Dillon will be a trickier opponent than he is used to.

However, I feel like ‘Piranha’ will take the ascent in his stride. So far he has looked incredibly positive and the Belotti loss showed elements of Dillon’s game he can exploit. I think the fight will be close and exciting the whole way. But I think that Garner will get his hand raised via decision. This outcome is priced at 1/1 if you want to back Garner to get the judge’s nod.

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