Khariton Daurovich Agrba vs. Petr Vladimirovich Petrov

Xmas Eve in Moscow, part of a triple-header with Vlasov vs. Valera and Batyrgaziev vs. Manzanilla on Матч! TV. The vacant IBF super lightweight European title will be on the line.

Petrov is an interesting case. My first exposure to him - and probably most fans', unless they happened to catch him losing to Vitali Tajbert deep on the undercard of Sturm vs. Griffin 1 in 2007 - was getting positively wrecked by a prime Marcos René "Chino" Maidana. I wrote him off as just another undeserving (and feather-fisted) challenger who failed upward into a shot by clearing out enough riffraff to secure a ranking without facing any real threats, and it was a long uphill climb for the Russian-Spaniard to eventually gain my respect - but gain it he did. Over the next decade he gritted it out and stayed relevant, proving to be a legitimate (if fringe) world contender and winning the Boxcino lightweight tourney on ESPN2 FNF along the way and later upsetting Michael Angelo "The Artist" Pérez, only losing thrice in that period, all to world-ranked then-undefeated opponents (Dejan Zlatičanin, Terry Flanagan, and Ivan Baranchyk). He wound up being a lot better - not to mention less feather-fisted - than getting rag-dolled in the Chino loss had made him seem. He may in fact have only average power but he makes the most of it, applying heavy pressure with a good work rate and deep gas tank, and capable of boxing or brawling as the moment and opposition calls for.

This is a huge and (if he doesn't mind his p's and q's) potentially dangerous step up for Agrba, make no mistake - although you still have to favor the young unbeaten Abkhazian southpaw, who is 12 years Petrov's junior with a four inch advantage in height (5′9½″ to Czar's 5′5½″) and has been groomed for success ever since the amateurs. His movement and ring IQ will be his keys to victory in this possible stepping-stone to contention. His nickname is derived from both his primary hobby outside the ring being chess, and the fact that early in his career he drew comparisons in Russian media to retired WBO middleweight titlist Dmitry Yurievich Pirog - which is supremely high praise, and quite the big pair of shoes to fill.

 

I'm expecting this one to be the best in show. Vlasov and Batyrgaziev are both in severe mismatches on paper.

 

Betting line:

Agrba -500
Petrov +333