Alexander Dimitrenko vs. Dzenan Hodzic on March 9th in Hamburg, Germany

By Boxing News - 02/14/2013 - Comments

dimitrenko46435By Allan Fox: #10 IBF heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitrenko (33-2, 21 KO’s) will be taking an easy tune-up fight against 46-year-old Dzenan Hodzic (4-0, 4 KO’s) in a scheduled 8 round bout next month on March 9th at the CU Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

Hodzic hasn’t fought in five years and it makes you wonder why the 6’7” Dimitrenko is being matched up against somebody as old as Hodzic and as inactive. Dimitrenko was stopped by heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev by an 11th round knockout last year in May. Since then, Dimitrenko came back to defeat 36-year-old Samir Kurtagic (11-5, 8 KO’s) by an eight round unanimous decision.

This was supposed to have been an easy tune-up fight for Dimitrenko, but he was shockingly dropped in the 8th round by Kurtagic. That’s not a good sign for Dimitrenko’s future potential in the heavyweight division, and it may not matter how many tune-ups his German management give him.

Dimitrenko was at his best for the Pulev fight, and yet he was still totally dominated. Dimitrenko’s handlers might as well make the most of what they can with him by putting him in with the best fighters they can from the top tier. It’s possible, but not likely, that he could improve if he’s matched tough instead of against lesser fighters.

Dimitrenko was beaten by Eddie Chambers by a 12 round majority decision five years ago in 2008. Dimitrenko came back from that to win his next three fights against Yaroslav Zavorotnyi, Albert Sosnowski and Michael Sprott. He ran into troubles when he was matched tough against Pulev.

Despite being a huge heavyweight at 6’7” 250 lbs, Dimitrenko lacks power, and he doesn’t have a great jab either. He moves well but he’s still easy to hit. A lot of his opponents like to crowd him and take advantage of his lack of inside fighting skills because he tends to just cover up rather than hold when his opposition gets on the inside.



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