Tonight four-time heavyweight champion, Evander "real Deal" Holyfield (42-8-2, 27 KOs) goes for a portion of his fifth heavyweight title, when he faces Sultan Ibragimov (21-0-1, 17 KO’s) in a scheduled 12-rounder at Moscow’s Khodynka Ice Palace. It will be an uphill battle for the Real Deal when he meets Ibragimov who has the advantages in age, hand speed, and fight location. Holyfield does have the advantage in big fight experience, but he’ll need much more than that to beat a hungry, young opponent who will be fighting with a decided "home ring advantage." This factor, more than any, will have the greatest impact on the outcome of this fight.
I believe that this fight will go the distance due to Ibragimov’s limited punching power and Holyfield’s still formidable chin and will. In a fight which will see Holyfield pressing the action but throwing a limited number of punches, expect Ibragimov to play counter puncher, using his hand speed and timely clinches to keep Holyfield at bay.
This will play out as a more competitive fight than many would have expected, but I don’t see a way that Holyfield could win a close decision "on the road," so to speak. Barring an early Holyfield knockout, look for Ibragimov to outwork and out-slick the Real Deal over twelve moderately competitive rounds.
The battle for lightweight supremacy comes to a head tonight, and it starts with Diaz and will end with Diaz. Brothers in name only, Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz (32-0, 16 KOs) will meet Julio "The Kid" Diaz (34-3, 25 KOs) at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois in a matchup that has die-hard fans like me salivating. Look for the baby "bull market run" to continue in this one, as the undefeated Juan Diaz simply does not know how to lose. Julio Diaz does, three times prior to be exact, so look for him to suffer his fourth defeat.
