Unbeaten young stars Otabek Kholmatov and Raymond Ford are scheduled to fight for a vacant 126-pound title Saturday in Verona, New York.
OTABEK KHOLMATOV (12-0, 11 KOs)
VS. RAYMOND FORD (14-0-1, 7 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, March 2
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Featherweight (126 pounds)
- At stake: Vacant WBA title
- Odds: Kholmatov 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Significance (up to five stars): ***
- Also on the card: Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Reiya Abe, featherweights (for Lopez’s IBF title); Brian Norman Jr. vs. Janelson Bocachica, welterweights
- Background: We’ll see which rising young contender is the real deal. Kholmatov, a former youth amateur star from Uzbekistan, has stopped all but one of his 12 opponents since turning pro in 2021. Only one fighter has made it past the fifth round against the 25-year-old, journeyman Balam Hernandez Acosta. The Mexican was stopped in the eighth and final round in December. Kholmatov defeated two then-unbeaten opponents in his previous two fights, easily outpointing Andranik Grigorian and stopping Thomas Patrick Ward in the fifth. Kholmatov fights out of Hollywood, Florida. Ford also was a successful amateur in his country, the United States. The 24-year-old southpaw from Camden, New Jersey, is an excellent technician with exceptional speed and athleticism. And he is farther along than Kholmatov in his pro career, having already fought a former world titleholder. He defeated Jessie Magdaleno by a one-sided decision in his most-recent bout, last April. Ford failed to beat only Aaron Perez, against whom he fought to a draw in 2021. Kholmatov and Ford are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 by the WBA, respectively.
