THIS TIME last year, Arslanbek Makhmudov was considered by some to be an unknown quantity in the heavyweight division. With fearsome punching power and an intimidating presence, the Russian was not someone you wanted to run into in a dark alley, let alone a boxing ring. With the exception of a ten-round points win over Carlos Takam in 2022, ‘The Lion’ looked like a force to be reckoned with, especially in the opening rounds, where he landed nearly all of his knockouts.
When Makhmudov and Agit Kabayel signed on to fight on Judgment Day last December, few gave Kabayel a chance. The lion was expected to beat his opponent and claim his territory in a brutal, emotionless manner. Instead, the match was more reminiscent of a bull and a matador, as Kabayel made Makhmudov miss and then made him pay.
In his build-up to this week’s bout, Makhmudov recalled how he broke his right hand in the second round against Kabayel. The 35-year-old suffered two fractures, but it’s hard to quantify how much of a difference that would make against Kabayel, who largely avoided the big right hand.
Three knockdowns in the fourth round from body shots showed the human side of Makhmudov, who was saved by the referee from further punishment. Sergio Mora on the DAZN commentary team summed it up well, “I don’t care how big, how strong, how scary and intimidating you are, body shots make cowards of us all.”
And tomorrow night we will find out whether Makhmudov can still hold the grudge inside to win against Guido Vianello. Vianello looked promising early in his career, but two losses and a draw on his record is not a good result, especially against the likes of Kingsley Ibeh and Jonathan Rice. To Vianello’s credit, however, a split decision loss to Efe Ajagba in April has raised his profile and restored some of his potential.
With ten of his 12 wins coming by knockout, Vianello is, on paper at least, a much tougher opponent than Makhmudov’s most recent victim, Miljan Rovcanin. In the animal world, Rovcanin was a lamb to Makhmudov. It took an easy knockout in the second round for the Russian to regain his confidence and find his killer instinct.
Your zero or unbeaten record is still the main selling point in professional boxing, and if it goes, you may never be the same fighter again. Thanks to Turki Alalshikh, more elite boxers are challenging each other, so the myth of the invincible fighter is slowly being eroded to the point where a final record rather than a perfect record is worth something.
As mentioned, Vianello’s record is a perfectionist’s nightmare. However, the Italian probably has less to lose than Makhmudov, who comes into the contest as the favourite. One has to imagine Vianello will target Makhmudov’s body while Makhmudov should take comfort from the fact that his opponent has been stopped before.
Based on the co-main event between Christian Mbilli and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Makhmudov-Vianello is a crossroads fight that no one can afford to lose. At 35, Makhmudov is not old for a heavyweight, but another loss would certainly see him drop down Bob Arum’s priority list.
For Vianello, ‘The Gladiator’ needs a big win if he is to be considered a serious heavyweight contender. The Roma man is only 30, although if the losses continue to pile up on his resume, he could end up going the gatekeeper or senior journeyman route. A former 2016 Summer Olympics competitor, Vianello is highly regarded but has yet to reach his potential.
The beauty of these must-win fights, however, lies in the lucrative opportunities that follow. With his prowess continuing to grow in boxing and his love of heavyweights never dying, the winner of Makhudov-Vianello could find himself in another big fight by the end of the year or early 2025.
It’s a game of snakes and ladders. Both men have fallen down the rankings in recent years. But a strong showing could change everything. There’s arguably never been a better time to be a heavyweight with huge prize money to spare. Plus, with three of the top fighters in Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury approaching the end of their careers, the final world titles will be scattered and up for grabs.
