Israil Madrimov is putting himself through the last 50 days of preparation before challenging WBC interim Junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22nd, the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 card in Riyadh. The event can be seen live on DAZN PPV.
The former WBA 154-lb champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) will use what he learned from his recent narrow 12-round unanimous decision defeat against Terence Crawford to beat the popular Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs).
Ortiz Jr’s Relentless Pressure
Israil lost the Crawford fight because he failed to stand in the trenches and throw leather in the final three rounds, from the 10th through the 12th. Terence’s pressure made him look tired and scared, which was strange considering that he had the advantage of power, size, and amateur experience.
Ortiz Jr. will likely try to overwhelm Madrimov with pressure like Crawford did in the championship rounds, but he’ll do it from round one. If Madrimov can’t fight like that, he will lose a wide decision, or he could get knocked out. It comes down to stamina and courage. If he’s lacking in either of these categories on February 22nd in Riyadh, Vergil Jr. will beat him and make him look bad.
Madrimov, 29, has the superior boxing skills to win a decision against Ortiz Jr., 26, but that may not be enough for him to prevail.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 Card
Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov
Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith
DAZN PPV Undercard Debate
Interestingly, the Ortiz vs. Madrimov fight has been placed underneath the Adames-Sheeraz fight. Sheeraz isn’t highly thought of in the U.S., mainly after he chose not to challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. Vergil-Madrimov should arguably be the co-feature on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 card because it’s a better fight than the ones above them in this card.
Adames isn’t well known in the U.S. either and is seen as the weakest link among the champions at 160. As such, this Adames-Sheeraz should be positioned below the Ortiz Jr. vs. Madrimov fight, towards the bottom of the card. The true talents should be near the top rather than hype jobs and paper champions.
In Vergil Jr’s highly controversial 12-round majority win over Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th, we saw that Madrimov may need to make the rounds one-sided or score a knockout.
Fighting on the outside gives Madrimov the edge if he can do it for the entire fight, but again, it’s questionable whether he can defeat the A-side fighter Vergil by boxing him.
The Inside fighting and activity level favors Vergil. Popularity-wise, Ortiz has a big edge, as he’s got a large fan base on the West Coast of the U.S., especially in the Los Angeles area.
Vergil Jr. has better stamina than Madrimov, who gassed out in the later rounds in his loss to Crawford.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 @IsrailMadrimov is ready for next month 💫#BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | Feb 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/uCbikr0LY7
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 3, 2025
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