Jose Uzcategui vs Vladimir Shishkin Preview December 17th, 2022
Jose Uzcategui of Venezuela, a former IBF Super Middleweight Champion, is back in the ring on Saturday, December 17th when he takes on unbeaten Vladimir Shishkin of Russia. The 12-round bout can be seen live in America on Showtime with fans in Canada being able to see it on TSN5. Uzcategui last fought in May when he stopped Felipe Romero in the second round while Shishkin last saw action in March when he halted Jeyson Minda in the sixth round.
Uzcategui vs Shiskin Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jose Uzcategui +200
- Vladimir Shishkin -260
My Pick
The 31-year-old Uzcategui won the interim IBF Super Middleweight Title by stopping Andre Dirrell after the eighth round in March, 2018 in a rematch after he was disqualified in their first meeting a year earlier for hitting Dirrell after the bell in the eight round. Uzcaregui was then elevated to the full champion and was beaten in his first defence by Caleb Plant via a 12-round unanimous decision. Since then he’s gone 5-1 in the ring against limited opposition, including a 12-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Lionell Thompson in 2019.
Uzcategui, who now fights out of Las Vegas, is a bit of a banger and will enter the ring with a mark of 32-4 with 27 Ko’s. His career has been in a bit of a spin as he failed a drug test last year and was yanked out of a fight against David Benavidez because of it. He stands 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 76.5-inch reach which makes him one of the bigger super middleweights out there. He’s got quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 75 per cent and has boxed 138 rounds since turning pro in 2011 following a brief amateur career.
Uzcategui is 4-2 in his last six outings with all four wins coming by knockout. His first career loss was by 10-round unanimous decision to Matt Korobov in 2014 then he was disqualified against Dirrell and lost to Plant and Thompson by decisions for his four career losses. His biggest wins have been stoppages against Dirrell, Derrick Findley, David Lopez and Julius Jackson and a 10-round unanimous decision over Rogelio Medina. Uzcategui has a decent chin and good power, but he can sometimes be a bit wild with his punches. Since turning pro he’s also captured the vacant WBO Latino Middleweight Title.
Shiskin is a 31-year-old native of Stepnoe, Russia who now fights out of Detroit, Michigan. He makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 13-0 with 8 KO’s with 92 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2016. Before that, Shiskin enjoyed an extensive amateur career as a light heavyweight and fought in the World Series of Boxing. He measures 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch wingspan which sees him give up an inch in height and 3.5-inches in reach to Uzcategui.
As far as power goes, Shishkin ranks a bit above average with a current knockout ratio of 61.5 per cent. He hasn’t really faced anybody of note up to now so is taking a step up in class this weekend. His biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Konstantin Piternov, Siarhei Khamitski, Gasan Gasanov (for the vacant WBA Continental Super Middleweight Title), Nadjib Mohammedi, DeAndre Ware, Ulisses Siera, Oscar Riojos and Sena Agbeko.
Prediction…
Uzcategui has the edge in size, power and experience as he’s fought the tougher opponents up to now. However, Shiskin is a solid pro and can’t be taken lightly. This may be Uzcategui’s last chance to get his career back on track so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and expect him to bring his A game to the ring. If Uzcategui is at his best and fully focused then I’m expecting him to earn a hard-fought win.
Shiskin’s good enough to pull off a mild upset, but I’ll go with the Uzcategui.
Play: Uzcategui +200 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jose Uzcategui betting • Vladimir Shishkin betting