This is an excellent fight in the Welterweight division which will crown a new title contender in the IBF. Sergey Lipinets has looked good in his fights since moving up to Welterweight and with a win here can look to become a two division world champion in 2021. Custio Clayton has slowly been building himself to title contention over the last six years and must know that at 33 this is likely his only chance at getting to a world title.
Sergey Lipinets is a combination puncher that puts a heavy focus on the body. The punch I think he loves to throw more than anything is the overhand right. He used to be a high level kick boxer and like many kick boxers that transition to boxing he has a lacklustre defence though his chin makes up for his defensive deficiencies. He has experience at the top level of the sport and performed admirably against Mikey Garcia even though he lost a decision after twelve rounds.
Custio Clayton is a big welterweight but doesn’t use his size to his advantage like he could. He doesn’t throw a lot of punches instead preferring accurate counter shots that seem to have some power on them. It’s hard to tell how good his chin is as he hasn’t faced anyone that can really test it yet. His defence seems to be adequate from what I’ve seen though it will be put to the test against Lipinets. He lacks the experience at world level that Lipinets has though with there being no crowd that may not have a huge effect on him.
I think this will be a very competitive fight and will largely come down to who implements their game plan better. I expect Lipinets to throw lots of punches and be the aggressor and as long as he doesn’t feel Clayton can hurt him will win by late knockout. For Clayton he needs to get Lipinets respect within the first four rounds or he won’t be able to keep the Russian at bay. He also needs to get Lipinets timing and make his punches really count as he won’t be throwing as many as Lipinets. Judges often prefer volume especially if the person throwing more punches is coming forward so it will be hard for Clayton to get a decision.
I think Sergey Lipinets will win by stoppage in the 11th or 12th round due to consistently going to the body which will tire Clayton out enough that Lipinets can stop him late. While Clayton has some power I don’t think its anything that Lipinets hasn’t seen before so he won’t hesitate to go forward and overwhelm the Canadian.
Boxing Fulcrum 