Israil Madrimov is going through the last 50 days of preparation before challenging WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. February 22, Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 card in Riyadh. The event can be watched live on DAZN PPV.
Former WBA 154lb champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) will use what he learned from his recent narrow 12-round unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford to defeat popular Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs). ).
Relentless pressure from Ortiz Jr
Israel lost the fight with Crawford because he failed to get in the trenches and throw his skin in the last three rounds, from the 10th to the 12th round. Terence’s pressure made him look tired and scared, which was strange considering he had the advantage of power, size and amateur experience.
Ortiz Jr. will probably try to overwhelm Madrimov with pressure like Crawford did in the championship rounds, but he will do so from the first round. If Madrimov can’t fight like that, he will lose a wide decision or he could be knocked out. It all comes down to endurance and courage. If he lacks any of these categories on February 22 in Riyadh, Vergil Jr. will defeat him and make him bad.
Madrimov, 29, has the superior boxing skills to win a decision against Ortiz Jr., 26, but it may not be enough to get him the win.
Beterbiev vs. Buffalo 2 Card
Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
Carlos Adames vs. Hamza Sheeraz
Vergil Ortiz Jr. against Israil Madrimov
Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith
DAZN PPV Undercard Debate
It is interesting that the Ortiz vs. Madrimov fight was placed below the Adames-Sheeraz fight. Sheeraz is not highly regarded in the US, mainly after he decided not to challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. Vergil-Madrimov should probably be the co-feature on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 card because it’s a better fight than the ones above them on this card.
Adames is not well known in the US either and is considered the weakest link among the champions at 160. As such, this Adames-Sheeraz should be positioned below the Ortiz Jr. fight. against Madrimov, towards the bottom of the map. True talents should be at the top, not glorified 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 have to make the rounds one-sided or score a knockout.
Fighting on the outside gives Madrim an advantage if he can do that for the entire fight, but again, it’s questionable if he can beat A-side fighter Vergil by boxing him out.
The level of inner struggle and activity favors Virgil. In terms of popularity, Ortiz has a huge advantage as he has a large fan base on the West Coast of the US, especially in the Los Angeles area.
Vergil Jr. he has better stamina than Madrimov, who ran out of gas in the later rounds in his loss to Crawford.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦 @IsrailMadrimov it’s ready for next month 💫#BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/uCbikr0LY7
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 3, 2025
