I've said since this fight was made that it is a competitive fight and should be a top-notch fight. I've favored M. Perez from day 1 due to versatility, conditioning and talent. Appears as though the odds makers are giving a slight edge to the Russian. MA is -120, while Perez is even money. I will be placing my money on Perez. How do you all feel about this fight? Hell of a match at HW between top level prospects.
very even fight with a slight edge for Mago because of his power and Perez' current issues. If this fight took place shortly after prizefighter I would have gone with Perez.
What are these "issues" he's having???? I hadnt heard nothing about them, not that's he's a tabloid favorite.:yep
There's talk he has some legal issues, but don't ask me what cause I honestly don't know. And his ring moral may not be all that too at the moment.
Unless he refuses to exchange.:-( I agree that Perez is a better overall fighter with a better resume too, but Mago is going to be aggressive, and that's gonna win him rds. But Perez could catch Mago being wreckless, and Mago aint exactly iron.:think
Why should he exchange with a potentially lethal puncher? He's gonna box his ears off, Abdusalamov is a big oaf, just you wait and see. Mago Medzhidov, who is a relative of Abdusalamov, is infinitely more skilled.
Perez undoubtedly has the skill, but Mago brings power and pretty much relentless aggression. Pick 'em fight for me, though I'm leaning towards Mago 'cos I've got a soft spot for the clumsy, ugly bear. EDIT. PS agree with you 'bout Medzhidov, however, wonder if there's any chance of him going pro in the future?
I agree that Medzhidov has greater potential than Abdusalmov. And I agree that Perez SHOULD win this. But there were several rds during the Walker fight that Perez didnt look comfortable defensively. Mago is far stronger and faster than Walker, and he's very aggressive. Perez will have to get Magos respect, and drill him early or it could be a long night for him. AND......Im a Mago fan. He NEEDS this win to put him into contention. If he wins this fight, he's got a better win than any of the other prospects out there, and vice versa.
Perez is training hard for this, has been training pretty steadily even when out of action. His camp in the US has been terrific by all accounts. Its a bizarre situation though, some rich guy in Ireland has a mangement contract with him, has him in this state of the art sports complex, pays big money to bring in the top sparring partners and they all go away raving about how good Mike is. Tony Thompson has sparred Mike on 2 occasions and was KO'd the first time and comprehensively schooled the second time. Boystov, Dimitrenko, Helenius, Wilder, Chambers, Glazkov, Takam, Charr, Price, Wach, Cunningham, Kevin Johnson, Ustinov, Pulev and Hamer have all been in Cork for sparring. And thats coming to Mikes place for sparring, not the other way around. His "handler" has alot of money by all accounts. Its great for experience sure, but hes sending people away not wanting to fight him. His inactivity is down to lack of motivation. He just doesn't like tune up fights that pay very little. He does not want to fight anyone that will not be seen as a scalp. The better the opponent then the better the training camp. He was tantalisingly close to securing a fight with Tyson Fury 18 months back but the word is out there that hes just not seen as being worth the risk. He brings nothing to the table. And hes not motivated enough to be knocking out bum after bum in order to force his way in so its catch 22. I know someone who speaks with Mike regularly, Perez is simply too laid back for his own good sometimes. For the Walker fight he knew he'd win simply by cruising in first gear. When theres an opportunity to get some spotlight and take the scalp of someone more highly ranked/rated then he will be more fired up 1000% expect him to beat Abdusalamov purely because he sees it as a challenge and the opportunity to beat a so called "name".
Even with a relatively bad gameplan, Perez beat him. Abdusalamov isn't nearly as good as some made him out to be.
It was the gameplan that beat him. He had Mago hurt in the first minute of the fight, giving him the 2 minutes to establish the pace, and he maintained that pace throughout the fight. Mago was able to get going from rds 2-4, but Perez kept the CPs coming, bludgeoning Mago and keeping him honest throughout. Mago made a slight comeback in the 9th, and he typically started each rd well. In the 9th, he started well again, then when Perez came on, he was deducted a point. Mago, again started smoothly, making for a closer whole rd. Another rd for Mago. Perez did very well exchanging in the 10th when Mago knew he needed the KD/KO. Rather than giving Mago a chance to corner him and get some kind of standing 8 or TKO win, Perez kept on with his gameplan to go punch for punch, hit and not be hit. He did very well, and was a very SMART SOB to exchange with Mago throughout. IT WON HIM THE FIGHT!:deal
Mike perez won the fight but he took a beating himself. Perez is lucky he broke abdusalamovs nose in the first round, cause mago hurt perez a couple times to the body and head.