I think this is a relatively short notice fight for Abdurazzokov who isn’t a bad fighter but doesn’t have the power to keep the hard hitting very strong Abduraimov away from him.
I think Elnur Abduraimov will win by knockout in the first three rounds due to having huge amounts of power combined with the skills gained from an extensive amateur career. Abdurazzokov is only 20 and this is his third fight.
This is an excellent step up fight for Natalizi who is starting to show promise as a pro. Teffahi has been a fringe European level operator for a while and has caused a few upsets.
Teffahi is now 38 and past his prime but should have enough tricks to go the distance versus the big punching Natalizi who is starting to put it together as a pro. I don’t think Teffahi will pull off the upset as Natalizi has a good combination of power and boxing ability combined with youth which Teffahi now lacks. I predict Natalizi looks good in winning a decision though may stop Teffahi late depending on how much hes declined.
I believe this fight comes down to timing and by what I mean by that is Loriga is 43 and has looked beatable recently while Esposito is in his prime and getting his big opportunity to make a name for himself.
I didn’t think Loriga looked good in his last fight and I personally think he could be beat by almost any domestic fighter in Italy on the right day and i’m going to stand by that and pick Esposito to win by decision. I think his youth will prevail over Loriga’s experience.
This is a fine fight for Prodan to take as he’s been out the ring for a while and also needs to defend his IBF ranking belt to progress and hopefully get a big fight.
I don’t think he’ll have any problems in this fight as Cristofori has no power to speak of so won’t be able to keep Prodan off him or hurt him at all. He’s also been stopped by a non puncher while Prodan has reasonable power though his record is a bit padded. I expect Prodan to win by stoppage in the second half of the fight due to having more power and being slightly above domestic Italian level.
Scardina has been slowly progressing towards being a contender in the Super Middleweight division and this is another good step towards that. He’s fighting for the European title versus Cesar Nunez in a fight hes likely to win.
Daniele Scardina has showed good power and even won fights when he slightly injured himself so I don’t see Nunez being a problem as the guy doesn’t have a great chin or good skills. Scardina has already beaten better opponents than Nunez and I don’t think this is a bad stylistic match up for him so I think he’ll win by stoppage in the first half of the fight.
Marc Castro was the number one or number two amateur in the USA before turning pro last year. He had his debut on the Canelo-Smith card and while he looked overeager at the start he settled down and secured himself a knockout victory.
He’s got excellent technical skills and works to the body well. He pressures forwards and really makes his opponents work. I thought he showed reasonable power in his last fight and I like his fighting style as it’s smart pressure fighting. He has the skills to box and move but I don’t think he’ll do it so early in his career.
John Moraga is a former UFC fighter but is 36 and washed up at this point. I watched him fight Duke Ragan recently who was another standout amateur and he was taken to school throughout the four rounds. He isn’t technically great and doesn’t have the speed to keep up with the young fighters. He’s also taken this on short notice above his natural weight so you have to wonder what condition he is in.
I think Marc Castro will be able to put the pressure on and force a stoppage due to his aggressive style and Moraga being a late replacement.
This is a slight step up for Alexis Espino who is progressing slightly slower than other Matchroom prospects though that may benefit him in the future as he won’t be rushed to quickly. Ashton Sykes is a decent domestic level fighter in the USA who seems to have improved a bit in the last two years as he’s on a three win streak after starting his career 2-3.
Alexis Espino has fluid combinations that he throws to the body and head. I think he clearly has some power though sometimes doesn’t set it up enough. I like his check and lead hooks which he’ll often add punches to afterwords. His stamina seems fine and hes fundamentally fairly sound due to a decent amateur career.
Ashton Sykes has no footage that I could find online but I did find a video he did himself showing him training and talking about how motivated he is towards boxing. It sounds like hes been putting in the time and with his recent results hes clearly improved. I also thought the video had a lot of effort put into it which suggests to me hes serious about his boxing so this should be a good test for Espino.
I think its likely Espino will do enough to win due to his combinations and amateur background but Sykes has been in harder fights and could use his experience and age to pull off the victory. My official prediction is a close Espino points win.
Similarly to other prospects on the Canelo-Yildirim card Pacheco is taking a step up in competition which is must needed after hes comfortably beat all his opponents so far.
Diego Pacheco has excellent uppercuts and works to the body consistently which is rare too see from a prospect. I’ve noticed hes got more patient the more fight’s hes had and really seems to be improving. He doesn’t just rush his work anymore trying to get the knockout he instead breaks his opponents down. This is his first eight round fight though it shouldn’t be an issue as I haven’t seen any stamina issues. His defence is getting better because he doesn’t rush as much and should be plenty good enough for this level of competition.
Rodolfo Gomez Jr has a decent looking record of 14-4-1 with ten knockouts. I don’t think hes fundamentally very good and tries to land massive punches without setting them up behind a jab or even disguising them. His defence isn’t great however hes still better than all of Pacheco’s previous opponents. He’s only had one fight in two years and only three in the last three years so he may be very rusty. Looking at his boxrec he weighed in at 180 pounds for his last fight after being a Super Middleweight before so i’m not sure how seriously he takes the sport anymore.
I think Diego Pacheco will find this fight a bit harder than others hes had but his uppercuts and body work should see him through to a decision or late stoppage victory. I think hes very crisp with his uppercuts and places them excellently unlike Gomez Jr who throws wide punches which leave him open to counters.
This is a great step up fight for Aponte who is only 1-0 but had a good amateur career. Harry Gigliotti is 6-1 but his opponents have a combined record of 0-21-1 with one opponent making his debut.
Aaron Aponte had a good amateur career before turning pro young at the age of 19. He has a good jab and solid counters which is how he scored his first professional KO last time out. He’s got great fundamentals due to his amateur career. It’s hard to judge his power or stamina as his first opponent wasn’t up to scratch though this should be a slight step up.
Harry Gigliotti is an aggressive fighter but technically flawed. His footwork lets him down as he just charges into range winging in big punches hoping they hit. From what I can work out he’s done MMA before and this is likely where his weird style comes from. I don’t think he has any real power. Both his defence and level of opposition aren’t good.
I struggle too see any other outcome than a Aaron Aponte victory. I think he’ll most likely win on points as its only four rounds and Gigliotti seems like a tough man. Aponte’s technical boxing skills will help guide him to a comfortable victory as Gigliotti gets picked off after rushing in again and again. I could potentially see a stoppage happening if Aponte times him coming in properly.
This is a decent step up fight for Zhang though he potentially needs to move quickly at this point in his career as he’s now 37 and likely won’t get a title shot for a few years. Jerry Forrest is being given another opportunity even after a relatively average performance versus Carlos Takam and if he wins this fight it turns his career around.
Zhilei Zhang is a tall southpaw which makes his opponents struggle because of how few exist in the heavyweight division. He’s decent technically especially for a heavyweight due to his extensive amateur background. He has good power and stamina when he’s in shape which I expect him to be for this fight. I do think he’s vulnerable to be being upset by an underdog soon as he’s aging and is open to be hit especially when he gets tired.
Jerry Forrest isn’t a bad boxer and his jab can be decent but at this level he never seems to do enough. He doesn’t throw enough punches and really go for the win and is instead happy to try and land one big punch to turn the fight around rather than work for it. I also think his size disadvantages don’t help him at all as hes a small heavyweight.
I think Zhilei Zhang will win a decision after ten rounds due to being technically better combined with both height and weight advantages. Forrest has a chance at causing the upset but he’d have to really go for it and I haven’t seen that from him yet.
Boxing Fulcrum