Arslanbek Ruslanovich Makhmudov vs. Erkan Teper

September 23rd at Centre Vidéotron. NABF and NABA heavyweight titles at stake, fourth and first defenses respectively of Makhmudov. The incumbent, born in Russia yet based in Québec for his entire pro career, is ranked #12 & #13 by the WBC & WBA, the big-league affiliates of the bodies that sanction his North American belts. Teper, a German of Turkish descent, is currently not ranked top 40 by either org.

 

Makhmudov looks to keep his perfect stoppage rate alive (12 of 12 so far, with nine KO1 victims and just one reaching the seventh), while Teper has only been stopped once by Robert Helenius (a foe since turned sparring partner) in eight rounds in 2018.

 

How on earth do you figure Arreola is top 15 range in 2021?

In the last eight years, his complete dossier of victories includes:

1. UD8 Curtis Harper in March of 2015 (the guy most famous for quitting the moment the first bell rang against Efe Ajagba)
2. RTD6 Maurenzo Smith in December of 2018 (dude was 41 years old and it was his eleventh defeat)
3. TKO3 Jean-Pierre Augustin (Haitian southpaw that came in 17-0-1 but had never fought anybody of note)

That's a wrap. Three, in eight years. None of the above ranked top 40 in the world by any org. Teper in that span has beaten Duhaupas, Price, Rossy, and Lazaridis.

Teper is a lump and will be flattened on Thursday, but he's a step above the current Arreola. Yeah he may have dropped Andy Ruiz Jr. early but a) Ruiz is notorious for his sluggish-starting and b) the other 11 were a shutout for Ruiz.

 

He stopped Rice in 2019.

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He cut the ring off well and was able to land his power shots whenever he put his mind to it.