Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Junior Anthony Wright Preview October 28th, 2023
Two hard-hitting, heavyweights will be going at it over 10 rounds this Saturday, October 28th as unbeaten Arslanbek Makhmudov of Russia will be taking on Junior Anthony Wright of Evanston, Illinois. The bout from Saudi Arabia, can be seen live in America on ESPN+ while other nations have it on pay-per-view as a part of the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou tilt. Makhmudov last fought in July when he flattened Raphael Akpejiori in two rounds to defend his NABF Heavyweight Title. Wright last saw action in April when he stopped Brian Howard in just 137 seconds.
Makhmudov vs Wright Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Junior Anthony Wright +1600
- Arslanbek Makhmudov -5000
MY PICK
The 34-year-old Makhmudov fights out of Montreal, Canada and makes the ring walk with a perfect record of 17-0 with 16 Ko’s. There’s no denying his power as he owns a highly-impressive 94.1 per cent knockout ratio with Carlos Takam being the only man to last the distance with him and go past the seventh round as well. In fact, 11 of his stoppages have come in the very first round. Makhmudov made his pro debut in 2018 and has just 41 rounds under his belt since due to his tremendous knockout record.
Before turning pro, he had a fine amateur career and also fought in the World Series of Boxing. Makhmudov stands just over 6-feet-5-inches tall and reportedly has an 80-inch reach. So far, the biggest wins of his career have been against Michael Wallisch,Takam, Pavel Sour, Jason Bergman, Jonathan Rice, Samuel Peter, Erkan Teper and Mariusz Wach. Since turning pro he’s also captured the NABA, WBC Continental Americas and vacant WBC Silver Heavyweight Crowns.
As for Wright, he’s now 37 years old and will climb through the ropes with a mark of 20-4-1 with 17 Ko’s. He measures 6-feet-tall with a 74-inch reach which means he gives up five-inches in height to Makhmudov as well as six-inches in reach. He made his pro debut in 2011 following a pretty good amateur which saw him reach the 2009 USA National Golden Gloves quarterfinals and win the Chicago Golden gloves three times. He also carries considerable power in his punches as 85 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, including his last six wins.
Wright’s first defeat came at the hands of Rakhim Chachkiev in 2015 when he was stopped in the eighth round in a shot at the vacant IBO Cruiserweight Title. He had a shot at the vacant WBA Cruiserweight Title 12 months later but was halted in the 10th round by Beibut Shumenov. Just two fights later he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Ruslan Fayfer and in December, 2021 he was stopped in the second round by Joe Jones for his fourth loss in nine fights. He’s bounced backs with a third-round KO over Colby Madison and the first-round KO over Brian Howard.
The lone draw on Wright’s record is a 10-round affair in 2014 against Stivens Bujaj for the vacant WBC International Cruiserweight Title. The biggest wins in Wright’s career have been against Galen Brown, Marlon Hayes, Madison and Howard but just 13 of his 25 opponents have headed into the ring with a winning record.
Prediction…
Both boxers have heavy hands but Wright is quite a bit smaller than Makhmudov, even though he’s got solid skills. Wright has also been stopped in three of his four defeats so that doesn’t bode well for him against Makhmudov. We never know though as Wright is a late replacement for southpaw Agron Smakici, who pulled out for some unknown reason. This is an interesting matchup and I’m expecting Makhmudov to take it by stoppage to remain unbeaten.
Makhmudov’s power will be the difference.
Play Makhmudov -5000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Arslanbek Makhmudov betting • Junior Anthony Wright betting