By Ian S Palmer
Omaha, Nebraska, will be the site of the featherweight showdown between IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich of Russia and Jayson Velez of Puerto Rico this Saturday, November 29. The 12-round bout between the two undefeated boxers can be seen live on HBO in North America while British fans can catch the action on BoxNation.
The 28-year-old Gradovich climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 19-0 along with 9 Kos while the 26-year-old Velez is 22-0 and has 16 Kos to his name. Velez will have a two-inch height advantage as well as a three-inch edge in reach. Gradovich has the edge in pro experience though since he’s fought 128 rounds and Velez has gone 91 rounds up to now. Gradovich is now fighting out of Oxnard, California, where he’s trained by Robert Garcia.
Gradovich doesn’t possess a lot in the way of power, at least when compared to Velez’s heavier punch, but he’s been in the ring against better opposition throughout his career. This will be a step up for Velez and it’ll be interesting to see how powerful his punches are against a better class of fighter. Gradovich won the title by beating the relatively unknown Billy Dib by split decision back in March of 2013. The two met in a rematch just eight months later and Gradovich came out on top again, this time by a ninth-round stoppage.
Velez is a fan-friendly fighter with good power, but he’ll be in against a boxer who had a good amateur career and one who is relentless in the ring. Gradovich has a good chin and knows how to control the range and pace of a fight. Velez will try to use his physical advantages and try to catch the champion with fast combinations to both the body and head whenever he gets within range. Gradovich may find it hard to keep Velez off of him due to his lack of power.
Velez will need to make sure he doesn’t go into the fight looking to end it with one punch. He’s going to have to use his boxing skills to win some rounds since Gradovich can take a good shot. If Gradovich can handle Velez’s power then the challenger is going to need something to fall back on. Gradovich isn’t exactly the most exciting boxer in the world these days as he’s quite technical, but he’s definitely efficient. He’s accurate with his punches and doesn’t waste many of them.
Gradovich will try to get in close to nullify the power of Velez while Velez will try to keep him at a distance so he can get full power on his punches. If Velez doesn’t feel the champion’s shots then fans should expect to see him wade in and try to take the Russian out. This is why it’s imperative for Gradovich to make sure he earns some respect early in the fight.
Prediction
This has the potential to be a pretty entertaining fight because Gradovich will be forced to let his hands go. Power could come into the equation as well as the chins of both fighters. There should be some good exchanges along the way while Gradovich attempts to wear the challenger down. This is a pretty even matchup and it should be a pretty even affair with Gradovich retaining his belt by a close decision as long as his chin holds up.
