The vacant WBA Light Welterweight title is up for grabs this coming Friday as unbeaten's collide with Domican Joan Guzman (33-0-1-1, 20) facing Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev (17-0, 8) in a very interesting match up.
Going in to this match up it's fair to suggest that Guzman is the favourite. He's a much more proven fighter and has shown real quality as he's claimed world titles at both Super Bantamweight and Super Featherweight, and was also close to claiming a world title at Lightweight. However the fact this bout is at Light Welterweight and Guzman is getting on does perhaps level the playing field somewhat.
At some 36 years old Guzman isn't a spring chicken any more. In his prime he was lightening quick fighter with hands, feet and his brain, he could make very good fighters look very silly as he did to Humberto Soto and Terdsak Kokietgym. Despite his ability however Guzman's problems lay with his attitude and he was lazy both in and out of the ring. Out of the ring this laziness showed as he missed numerous weigh-ins in fact shockingly he came in over 9lbs above the Lightweight limit in an IBF Lightweight title bout. however in the ring laziness has seen him almost losing several times.
I terms of natural skill Guzman is genuinely special. He had all the skill a fighter could wish for, he had the ability to unleash combinations that looked not only fluid but effortless and he could could box equally as well on the front foot and the back foot. It was little wonder that only a few years ago many were putting Guzman in their pound-for-pound lists. Though as mentioned his laziness has almost cost him with Ali Funeka and Jorge Rodrigo Barrios both coming close to taking Guzman's unbeaten record.
Also at Light Welterweight it needs to be said that Guzman's punch resistance may not be great and his power is very unlikely to be as hurtful as his record perhaps shows (he currently has a 57% KO rate as it is, so it's not hard to assume that some Light Welters would literally walk through him).
Whilst Guzman is well known by boxing fans, Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev is much more obscure despite having split his career between his native Russia and the USA (where he has surprisingly fought 8 times). The fact he has fought half his career in the US may well serve him well here.
Having been a professional since 2007 Allakhverdiev has swiftly but quietly risen up the rankings with both Ring (#6) and Boxrec (#8) ranking him highly. These rankings have been helped by a number of notable victories including a technical decision victory over Nate Campbell and stoppages over Ignacio Mendoza and Kaizer Mabuza, with the Mabuza victory being hugely impressive.
In terms of his style Allakhverdiev doesn't have the typical straight up Russian style that you may expect. He's got notable signs of his US based early career with a lot of movement, and some vicious body work, though appears to be a fighter who whilst skilled can be made to miss and a good skilled fighter would likely be able to make him pay for his defensive issues. However he hits a lot harder than his record shows and when he turns it on he is very fun to watch. In fact it's genuinely shocking that his KO rate is less than 50% with his power and aggression.
In terms of the actual bout, this really is an issue of just how much does Guzman have left in the tank? If Guzman is half the fighter he once was, he really could do a number on Allakhverdiev's jaw with sharp accurate counters, however if the former Super Bantamweight gets caught by Allakhverdiev's straight left hand he could well be in a world of pain, and with Guzman's age and slowing reactions that is a real possibility.
I'm guessing that Guzman just has enough to take this, but I do expect him to be in real problems at times as Allakhverdiev simply imposes himself for sections of the bout.
Prediction-Guzman Decision.
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