How can you not have heard of the WBAs world-renowned former interim Crusierweight champ who ran the murderers row of Flanagan, Watts and Bejenaru to reach the very pinnacle of the sport? Fans today.....
It does say something that the WBA's super champ is not ranked in the top 10 by either TBRB, Ring or Boxrec (or indeed any of the other sanctioning orgs - although that's expected) but nonetheless full world champ he is.
Honestly I did give serious thought to just skipping this one but there's no other fights this week and it is for a full world title... Not gonna lie though, a good part of the reason was that I was a fan of Egorov from his ammy days and I'm crossing my fingers for the upset - even though Aleksei ain't looked anything particualrly special in the pro ranks.
Oh, THAT Arsen Goulamirian! Sure, sure, I know who HE is.
No doubt in my mind that Egorov is the more skilled boxer of the pair, there's a minimal size difference and age is on the Russkies side (31 vs 35). They've both had very extensive lay-offs of course but I see that effecting the older man more. Only edge I give to Arsen is his greater experience in the pro-ranks although in terms of quality of opposition there really ain't much in it. It's possible Goulamirian has greater power - certainly he's had more stoppages in his last few fights before his lay-off, but even then it's not conclusive.
Main questionmark I got over Egorov is his energy management if it goes to the championship rounds as I expect it will... Bejenaru showed how limited Arsen was and was all over him early rounds (although Constantin is undoubtedly a skilled operator he couldn't crack an egg) but gradually got reeled in by the tough French-Armenian after he wasn't able to make a dent. Egorov might not be the biggest hitter but he's certainly got more than enough to earn respect, and more than Bejenaru for sure.. and I'd say he's equally skilled if perhaps a little slower and less mobile.
Course Aleksei is gonna be fighting the judges in France too so it's a risky pick, but Ima roll the dice anyway.
No doubt in my mind that Egorov is the more skilled boxer of the pair, there's a minimal size difference and age is on the Russkies side (31 vs 35). They've both had very extensive lay-offs of course but I see that effecting the older man more. Only edge I give to Arsen is his greater experience in the pro-ranks although in terms of quality of opposition there really ain't much in it. It's possible Goulamirian has greater power - certainly he's had more stoppages in his last few fights before his lay-off, but even then it's not conclusive.
Main questionmark I got over Egorov is his energy management if it goes to the championship rounds as I expect it will... Bejenaru showed how limited Arsen was and was all over him early rounds (although Constnatin is undoubtedly a skilled operator he couldn't crack an egg) but gradually got reeled in by the tough French-Armenian after he wasn't able to make a dent. Egorov might not be the biggest hitter but he's certainly got more than enough to earn respect, and more than Bejenaru for sure.. and I'd say he's equally skilled if perhaps a little slower and less mobile.
Course Aleksei is gonna be fighting the judges in France too so it's a risky pick, but Ima roll the dice anyway.
From what I have seen of him, Egorov looks like someone who takes a lot of punches in spite of his technique. If that happens in France, as you correctly point out, I can't see how they can give him the nod. But, to be honest, I'm not conversant with either fighter, so I'm going with the odds this time and see what happens...
EDIT: I just glanced at the odds for an Egorov KO win in the final rounds, 51:1 or so... I will definitely throw something there, in the hope that your pick is correct (but not perfect!) after all
I usually consider the fighter's eyes when deciding who to pick. Here's a picture taken after the weigh-in of Goulamirian vs Egorov. Based on the respective looks, I'm changing my pick from the former to the latter, following our boss' best advice a few posts above. Egorov looks business... I'm betting on a KO as well!
No doubt in my mind that Egorov is the more skilled boxer of the pair, there's a minimal size difference and age is on the Russkies side (31 vs 35). They've both had very extensive lay-offs of course but I see that effecting the older man more. Only edge I give to Arsen is his greater experience in the pro-ranks although in terms of quality of opposition there really ain't much in it. It's possible Goulamirian has greater power - certainly he's had more stoppages in his last few fights before his lay-off, but even then it's not conclusive.
Main questionmark I got over Egorov is his energy management if it goes to the championship rounds as I expect it will... Bejenaru showed how limited Arsen was and was all over him early rounds (although Constantin is undoubtedly a skilled operator he couldn't crack an egg) but gradually got reeled in by the tough French-Armenian after he wasn't able to make a dent. Egorov might not be the biggest hitter but he's certainly got more than enough to earn respect, and more than Bejenaru for sure.. and I'd say he's equally skilled if perhaps a little slower and less mobile.
Course Aleksei is gonna be fighting the judges in France too so it's a risky pick, but Ima roll the dice anyway.
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