Is Makhmudov ready for the big fights? I think with him what you see is what you are going to get. I don’t think there is much more developing going to happen. But I think he can give some of the top guys some real problems.
It's getting rather difficult to tell with some of these guys. F'n few HWs are fighting anyone else of note in the top ten. And are just getting older. His best wins over Takam, Peter, and Wach ALL have been beaten quite a bit before losing to makhmudov.
His management hasn't been getting him into good matchups. He wanted to fight Tyson Fury last December, but the craven Belly fought faded Chisora instead. But it's good to see he'll have a third fight this year, and Kabayel is a decent opponent. Hopefully in 2024 he'll fight one of the top ten contenders.
He can win and lose to any top 10 HW right now, as well as most of the top HW's. HW is a weak division and nobody is unbeatable
I say "yes". As subtle and artful as a bulldozer - but that's fine by me. I have doubts he'll just walk through an elite boxer-puncher and I don't think he can maintain that wonderful early-round intensity of his for anything like 12 rounds - but I think he's "title-capable" on a good night.
Kabayel is a good opponent - if and only if Kabayel is sharp. He's been anything but active and when he's fought it hasn't been against quality opponents. The problem with this fight is that it's buried deep-down on the Dec. 23rd card...it's precedes Hrgovic v. De Mori for heaven's sake. For Makhmudov to "get called up" in 2024, I think you're going to need to have at least two of Fury, Wilder, AJ, Usyk retire or get cashed out.
I wouldn't say it's weak with Usyk, Fury, Wilder, Joshua, Hrgovic, Zhang, Ruiz, Joyce, Wallin as the top 8. What I'd call weak is Middleweight, and some of the lower tiny weights.
Ruiz hasn't boxed in over a year, and in the last four years he's only beaten 40+ year olds Arreola and Ortiz. Does that warrant a top eight ranking?
After the fight with Carlos Takam, I suspected that Arslanbek Makhmudov is just such a knockout artist, and such a boogeyman.
I think that a very good boxer-puncher could probably beat Makh. And I do think that that fight showed that Makh can't charge like a bull for 10-12 rounds. But I don't think that Takam was clean for that fight w/ Makh. Takam couldn't give you more than seven or eight quality rounds when he was 30. So I have trouble seeing how he can suddenly give you ten good-looking rounds at age 40. Nature doesn't work like that. Basically, I think Carlos Takam is this decade's Amir Mansour. I think he was clean for the Bakole fight and having been forced to put away his chemistry set - he came crashing back to earth. PS - Some of us are perfectly okay with knockout artists!
I like Makhmudov, he's a real fighter and his fights are always interesting, when you see him like this he looks dangerous, but he's actually a nice guy...
