Madrimov’s plan: beat Ortiz or fight?

Israil Madrimov is undergoing the final 50 days of preparation before challenging interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22, on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card in Riyadh. The event can be seen live on DAZN PPV.

Former WBA 154-pound champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) will use what he learned from his recent 12-round unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford to defeat the popular Vergil Jr. (22-0 , 21 KOs). ).

Ortiz Jr’s relentless pressure

Israil lost the fight with Crawford because he failed to stay in the trenches and throw leather in the last three rounds, from the 10th to the 12th. Terence’s pressure made him look tired and scared, which was strange considering he had the power advantage, size and amateur experience.

Ortiz Jr. will probably try to overwhelm Madrimov with pressure like Crawford did in the championship rounds, but he will do it from the first round. If Madrimov can’t fight like that, he will lose a wide decision or could be knocked out. It all comes down to endurance and courage. If you fail in any of these categories on February 22 in Riyadh, Vergil Jr. will beat you and make you look bad.

Madrimov, 29, has superior boxing skills to win a decision against Ortiz Jr., 26, but that may not be enough to prevail.

Beterbiev Card vs. Bivol 2

Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
Vergilio Ortiz Jr. vs. Israel Madrimov
Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
Joshua Buathi vs. Callum Smith

Debate on the DAZN PPV card

Interestingly, the fight between Ortiz and Madrimov has been placed below the fight between Adames and Sheeraz. Sheeraz is not well liked in the US, mainly after he decided not to challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. Vergil-Madrimov should arguably be the co-feature on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 because it’s a better fight than the ones above them on this card.

Adames is also not well known in the US and is seen as the weakest link among the champions at 160. As such, this Adames-Sheeraz should slot in below the Ortiz Jr. vs. Madrimov fight, towards the end of the billboard. Real talents should be near the top instead of advertising jobs and paper champions.

In Vergil Jr’s highly controversial 12-round majority victory over Serhii Bohachuk on August 10, we saw that Madrimov might need to make the rounds one-sided or score a knockout.

Fighting outside gives Madrimov the advantage if he can do it throughout the fight, but again, it is questionable if he will be able to defeat the A-side fighter Vergil by boxing him.

The level of activity and internal struggle favors Vergil. Popularity-wise, Ortiz has a huge advantage as he has a large fan base on the west coast of the United States, especially in the Los Angeles area.

Vergil Jr. has better stamina than Madrimov, who ran out of steam in the later rounds in his loss to Crawford.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 @IsrailMadrimov It’s ready for next month 💫#BetterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/uCbikr0LY7

– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 3, 2025