What a great fight. Arslan is not quite a top 5 Cruiser despite his title, but he is a solid top 10 opponent, and more importantly has one of the 3 main belts. This fight could definitely go either way, here's to hoping Ding brings it home! :happy
I think so too. People underrate Ding's boxing skills. He's not exactly a young Cassius Clay, but he can actually make people miss and counter pretty well. I can actually see Ding outboxing Arslan, the only two problems with him winning a decision are 1) the foreign judges 2) Arslan's great stamina. So it is best to go the safer route: let Arslan come to him and get overconfident, and then lower the boom in the mid to later rounds and collect the belt.
Don't let appearances tell the tale - even the most chiseled fighters can get KTFO if they are hit hard enough. Ding by late TKO
I'm with most of ESB in hoping ing brings home the WBA title,and he wil need to TKO or KO Arslan, maybe little by little if Arslan survives the early rounds.
Both guys look in great shape. I think Arslan won't knock out Ding but he should get a decision. Of course if Ding does win it'll most likely be by KO.
Best wishes to Ding, I think he's going to need to get him out of there early if he wants to win this. The longer it goes on the more I think it favours Arslan.
You are absolutely right in saying that Ding has to come up with a life best performance in order to capture the belt. He will never get a chance like this again. Arslan is a very limited and mediocre boxer. Yes,he is a mentally tough warrior,and his stamina as well as his chin are not from this planet,but he fights like a clubfighter and looks as clumsy as a talented bouncer at times. Arslan is beatable.Besides Ding wont have to worry about Arslan's punches as the German based Turk cant crack an egg with his soft punches.Usually his opponent run out of gas after a couple of rounds because they play with Arslan's cards and follow his rules.Nodoby wins a game when playing with the devil's cards in his backyard. I very much hope that Ding has a good game plan and sticks to it instead of trying to duke it out.