Ok, it probably means nothing , but I was a big fan of this guy early in his career. Had the big amateur win over Cotto then an aggressive pro style. Bizarre loss to E. Clottey in a fight he was winning, then beaten up by Cotto. At 35 he likely isn't going to contend again as it looks like the comeback fight might have been at 154. Still, interesting: [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sydney Olympics welterweight gold medalist Mohamad Abdulaev (16-3, 12 KOs) looked predictably rusty after three and a half years of hiatus, but still scored a six-round unanimous decision over Russian journeyman Sergey Starkov (16-53-2, 2 KOs) yesterday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This bout, fought at junior middleweight limit, headlined a small card, promoted by Favzul Munavvar boxing club. Abdulaev, now 35, is best known for his loss to Miguel Cotto in a rematch of their earlier collision at Olympic competition.[/FONT]
His an underachiever, I saw a lot of skill in him, he was the first person to be able to back Cotto up when they fought...hope his successful.
lovemore N'dou was the first person to back Cotto up. He hurt Cotto in the 5th with a right hand though.
Yeah, I was big fan of Abdulaev also. He was a fire*******, rarely in a bad fight, and had some devestating knockouts. I thought he had a pretty good chance to upset Cotto when they fought in 2005. I can remember being dragged to a Tyson-McBride fight party that same night, and thinking after it was over, "I missed Cotto-Abdulaev over this ****?" Luckily when I got home the fight was being replayed on HBO West. But yeah, I don't think he'll be able to make much of a run either. Even though he turned pro in his late 20s, he still seemed to burn out relatively quickly.
He is past his prime,and wont win any mayor title at the pros anymore. A true underachiever he is! He fell short of my high expectations for him.Nevertheless,I liked him and his style.He should stay retired in my opinion.
I agree with Odo, if you dug up my old posts on him I would look foolish with the amount of hype I had invested into him. Great technical fighter who looked like he was a world beater. He is right there with those great amateurs who didnt make great pros.
It was funny to see how confident Abdullaev was before the Cotto fight. He beat him in the Amateurs and thought he owned him and would do the same. Same with Pinto.....I don't think either of them have fought since the starching they took from Cotto, with the exception of Abdullaev's recent comeback fight. I believe both were undefeated with impressive KO's just like Ricardo Torres !!!!
I watched the Olympics fight the other day between Cotto & Abdullaev. I couldnt believe how bull**** the judging was...ii honestly thought Cotto hit more clean punches.
I was just browsing Boxrec, and I see Abdulaev fought again this past Sunday and won another UD over a journeyman. I wonder if he plans to make another run for a title.