Predictions for the card on February 22nd?

Bivol SD
Dubois KO
Sheeraz KO
Ortiz KO
Schofeld KO
Smith KO
Kabayel KO

 

This post from a few weeks back on the Is Madrimov Overrated? thread, sums up my thoughts about he fight quite well.

Yes and no, he's being underrated by the in denial Crawford fanboys who are ultra defensive about how well he did against Crawford, who are desperately trying to paint a narrative that it was a one-sided schooling. But he's also being overrated by another faction of Crawford fanboys as a coping mechanism, because in their heart of hearts, they know he did enough to pull off the win or at the very least a draw. So they need to put a spin on Crawford looking less than stellar. Of course I said he was going to be a stylistic nightmare for Crawford, so that didn't shock me at all. But his power is not world class, and his skill set while definitely bordering on elite, it's nothing extraordinary. Also he was unproven against world-class operators, so compared to the rest of the elite in the division, we don't really know where he stacks up. But we know he does well against blown up welterweights.

He's also being overrated by the denigrators of Vergil Ortiz Jr, who feel threatened by him for their favorite fighters and desperately want him to lose. So they're blowing out of proportion how bad the flash knockdowns were against relentless KO artist Bohachuk, who I knew was going to be a stylistic nightmare and was afraid for Ortiz going into it. After all he'd never been 12 rounds, or fought a puncher at 154. Yet in his legit debut in the division, after a long spell out due to his illness, against one of the heaviest handed high volume fighters in the division, he went 12 rounds in an absolute Fight of the Year war. Yet he inexplicably ended up, finishing the stronger of the two. Madrimov ain't about that life, as we saw against Crawford, he's a very cautious fighter who likes taking minimal risks, who won't let his hands go unless he has the perfect shot lined up. That was two risk averse tacticians in there, playing chess. When Bud went to war, Madrimov freaked out and went into a defensive shell, Ortiz is going to bring non-stop violent war from the opening bell.

In short, I don't think Madrimov has the power to bother Ortiz, but I think Ortiz does have the power to bother him, and the output to upend any gameplan he will bring.

 

Zhang is woeful in every department but power, Kabayel is better in every possible metric. Could Zhang stop him? Of course, he has bricks for hands. But can Kabayel get in close enough, to neutralize his power, by gluing himself to Zhang's chest, much like Forrest did, and wail on him until he falls apart. Yes. And don't give me any of that, but he was dehydrated nonsense. Anyone that brings that kind of pace against Zhang will wear his ass out and have him gasping for air.

 

Brevity is it necessarily my strong suit, but I'll give it a shot. Also don't feel bad, it's no skin off my teeth to answer question, I'm not some uppity standoffish diva.

It's pretty simple, Shakur fought skittish as hell against De Los Santos, a southpaw with power. Although Edwin is a pretty risk-averse fighter as well, so he didn't push the pace and let his hands go as much as he should have. But even then, each round had a one or two punch difference, they were far closer rounds than the scorecards reflected. Now... Floyd is a decent sized lightweight who's a switch hitter, who fights well out of both stances. He's pretty good at finding the proper range is usually able to get his shots off in quick succession, sometimes in combinations. He also has incredibly sharp reflexes and counters very well. Add to that, he's fairly heavy-handed, which will have Shakur keeping his hands at home fearing a counter. That adds up to me as, Floyd is younger, fresher has a higher output and will comprehensively out work Shakur in every round of the fight. If he lands enough, I wouldn't rule out a late stoppage. The scoring has been pretty fair in Saudi Arabia and at this point I don't think anybody wants to do ratings poison like Shakur favors. So I wouldn't rule out that method of victory either.

Edit: Damn, I failed, that wasn't that brief was it?