By Ian S Palmer
Original article; https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/arslanbek-makhmudov-vs-miljan-rovcanin/23642/
Two hard-hitting heavyweights will be going at it over 10 rounds this Saturday, May 25th as Arslanbek Makhmudov of Russia will be taking on Miljan Rovcanin of Serbia in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. The bout can be seen live in America on ESPN+. Makhmudov last fought in December when he suffered his first pro loss at the hands of Agit Kabayel when he was stopped in the fourth round to lose his NABF, and WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Belts. Rovcanin last saw action in November when he halted Petar Mrvalj in the second round.
The 34-year-old Makhmudov fights out of Montreal, Canada and makes the ring walk with a fine record of 18-1 with 17 Ko’s. There’s no denying his power as 94.4 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage with Carlos Takam being the only man to last the distance with him and go past the seventh round as well. In fact, 12 of his stoppages have come in the very first round. Makhmudov made his pro debut in 2018 and has just 46 rounds under his belt due to his tremendous knockout record.
Before turning pro, he had a fine amateur career and also fought in the World Series of Boxing. Makhmudov stands just over 6-feet-5-inches tall and reportedly has an 80-inch reach. So far, the biggest wins of his career have been against Junior Anthony Wright, Michael Wallisch,Takam, Pavel Sour, Jason Bergman, Jonathan Rice, Samuel Peter, Erkan Teper and Mariusz Wach. Since turning pro he’s also captured the NABA, WBC Continental Americas and vacant WBC Silver Heavyweight Crowns.
As for Rovcanin, He’s a 30-year-old who fights out of Belgrade. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 27-3 with 18 Ko’s and has boxed 108 rounds since turning pro as a teenager in 2012. He hasn’t really fought many recognizable opponents up to now other than Jared Anderson, who stopped him in the second round in 2022, but captured the vacant World Boxing Federation International Cruiserweight Title in 2013 when he stopped Misa Nikolic in the first round. He then added the vacant Serbian Heavyweight title in 2017 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Dusan Krstan.
Rovcanin’s toughest opponents have been Anderson, Alexander Dimitrenko and Agit Kabayel and he lost to all three of them. He met Dimitrenko in 2017 with the bout ending in a draw. However, Dimtrenko’s camp appealed the decision since Rovcanin was deducted a point on three occasions during the bout and according to the rules in Germany, where the fight was held, he should have been disqualified. The decision was then changed to loss by disqualification. He fought Kabayel in 2018 for the European Heavyweight Title and was stopped in the third round.
Out of his 30 opponents so far, Rovcanin has faced just nine who have entered the ring with winning records and he was beaten by three of them. He’ll be taking a step up in class on Saturday night when he fights outside of Europe for just the second time. As far as size goes, Rovcanin measures 6-feet-4-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up 1.5-inches in height to Makhmudov. He does possess decent power in his fists though as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four of his past five.
Prediction…
Both boxers have heavy hands but there’s no doubt Makhmudov possesses a lot more power and he’ll be in a pretty foul mood after being stopped by Agit Kabayel in his last fight. He may be seen as a one-dimensional fighter by many but he’s pretty good at what he does and hasn’t needed to display any fine boxing skills so far. Rovcanin has a puncher’s chance but I’m expecting Makhmudov to stop him.
