As a heavyweight boxing fan, you gotta love this Saturday’s card in Saudi. I can’t remember a time when so many high-profile names were gathered together in one night in this division. It is a truly great spectacle, and hats off to all involved There are, however, some very tactical bouts that have been made here, and at least one absolute clanger. A lot of the bouts seem to be geared toward building the vibe for future events, so you can’t really moan that much about some of the match-ups, as I believe we are gonna get to the ones we really want anyway – and hopefully, this year
Let’s start with the clanger – FILIP HRGOVIC v MARK DeMORI. As a high-ranking heavyweight, this is an embarrassing match-up to be given to Hrgovic on an occasion such as this, and you gotta question the logic behind it as it’s not a test of any description and will do nothing really for Hrgovic’s profile. Without being too disrespectful to Mr. DeMori – he doesn’t belong in the same ring, and I’m sure he knows that himself (but hes getting well paid to turn up, so good luck to him) – This fight is surely one of the most shocking mismatches ever made in heavyweight boxing history and will last as long as Hrgovic allows it to. My guess is that he will want to at least get a couple of rounds under his belt while he’s there, so I suggest that this will go HRGOVIC by KO in round 3 or 4.
FRANK SANCHEZ v JUNIOR FA. This is not far from being another clanger, but Fa is higher up the pecking order than DeMori, at least. He put up a decent performance against a lackluster Parker and is for sure a good fundamental boxer – but he is nothing really special besides that has no punch to speak of and is coming off a quick and brutal KO from Lucas Browne, so it doesn’t bode well for him here.
Sanchez, for my money, is the best heavyweight in the division in terms of pure boxing skill and know-how – yes, even more so than Usyk or Fury! He can also bang hard, is a big lump at 6’4 and 240+lb, and really does look the complete package. His victory over Ajagba really highlighted how technically gifted he is. The outcome of this fight, I think depends on how he wants to approach it. My guess is that he will slowly dismantle Fa and then KO him. SANCHEZ by KO in 6 or 7
ARSLANBEK MAKMUDOV v AGIT KABAYEL – this is a great match-up, although I don’t think it lasts long! Kabayel is a good boxer with plenty of heart, as he showed in his last fight against Smackiki when he was out on his feet but came back to succeed. However, he is a fighter who is directly in front of you, and that is bad news for him against Makmudov. Since Mike Tyson’s early days, I can’t remember another HW who throws punches with such continual malice as this guy.
Everyone is thrown to decapitate. His display against Wach was brutal in the extreme. Takam performed well against him, however, as Mak seemed confused by his ducking and bombing style – (perhaps an indication of the type of fighter who may beat him in the future? either that or a very elusive fighter like Sanchez or Usyk). Stand and trade with the guy, though, and he is going to go straight through you. MAKMUDOV by KO in 2 or 3
DANIEL DUBOIS v JARRELL MILLER – this could well be the fight of the night, and it all depends on how fit and ready Miller is now that he is ped-free. At 22 stone with a continuous come-forward style, he is gonna be very hard for Dubois to stop. Dubois is, however, gonna get a lot of chances to throw his bombs on target, as Miller does seem to take a lot of punches with his style.
Miller has shown a great chin thus far (but that can change in an instant, as we saw recently with Joe Joyce). If Dubois cannot KO or TKO him, I cannot see him getting through 12 rounds with the guy with his relentless style, continually throwing punches. So if Miller is fit, I say MILLER by TKO in 8 or 9
DEONTAY WILDER v JOSEPH PARKER. This depends on a lot of factors, the main one being how Parker approaches it. It’s a very dangerous fight for him because if styles make fights, then he is a sitting duck for Wilder’s bombs. Wilder is not a fighter who likes to mess around – he always has bad intentions. So if Parker doesn’t step up and hurt him early, this could all be over fairly quickly for him. His great heart and resilience will, I feel, keep him in there for a while, though, but I think Wilder catches up with him. WILDER by KO in 7 or 8
ANTHONY JOSHUA v OTTO WALLIN. Old Eddie was no mug-picking Wallin for his boy. Wallin has plenty of confidence and is a tidy boxer, but really, he has nothing that should worry Joshua. Joshua must know this, of course, so I expect him to be very aggressive in this fight. This has obviously been made to boost Joshua’s confidence ahead of the showdown with Wilder, and if he comes out with bad intentions, I expect an easy victory. JOSHUA by KO in 6 or 7
A great night of boxing to look forward to then, with even more mouth-watering contests to come down the road as a result. Makmoudov v Hrgovic, anyone? Or Miller? Or Sanchez against any of them! Add other names like Ajagba, Jalolov, Ruiz, Zhang, Bakole. Pero, Dychko, Kossobutskiy, and Anderson into the mix – even Ngannou! (not to mention Usyk and Fury), The future looks very exciting for HW boxing!
