By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan takes on fellow slugger Onoriode Ehwarieme of Nigeria in an eight-round bout this Saturday, August 26th. The fight from Tulsa, Oklahoma can be seen on the ESPN+ platform in America while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena and those in Canada can see it on TSN 3. Jalolov last fought in November when he stopped Curtis Harper in the third round while Ehwarieme halted Jeff Holcomb after the first round in his last outing in February, 2022.
The unbeaten Jalolov is 29 years old and enters the bout with a perfect mark of 12-0 with all 12 wins coming by way of stoppage for a 100 per cent knockout ratio. He’s boxed just 33 rounds since turning pro in 2018 with his longest tilt lasting eight rounds. The southpaw enjoyed an extensive amateur career as a super heavyweight which saw him win a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships as well as gold medals at the 2019 and 2023 World Championships and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
He also fought at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil and was Uzbekistan’s flag bearer at both the 2016 and 2020 Games. In addition, Jalolov captured a gold medal at the 2017, 2019 and 2021 Asian Championships. Jalolov stands 6-feet-7-inches tall and has an 81-inch reach. He’s been brought along slowly as a pro and has yet to face a ranked opponent. He won the vacant NABF Junior Heavyweight Title in 2019 when he stopped Brendan Barrett in the first round. He also has wins over the likes of Kamil Sokolowski, Willie Harvey and Tyrell Wright.
The 35-year-old Ehwarieme enters the contest with a mark of 20-2 with 19 Ko’s and comes close to matching Jalolov in power as 95 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage with his longest contest lasting five rounds. He’s boxed 56 rounds since turning pro back in 2010. He made his pro debut in December, 2010 and didn’t fight again until January, 2013. In fact, nine of his 22 bouts came in 2013 and he’s been inactive for the past 16 months. Ehwarieme also fought at the Olympics as he qualified for the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, but was beaten in his opening fight.
Ehwarieme also measures in at 6-feet-7-inches to match Jalolov in height, but unfortunately his reach is unlisted. His two losses came at the hands of Rodney Hernandez by way of first round knockout in 2019 and to Zhan Kossobutskiy via a fourth-round stoppage in 2021. Ehwarieme captured the vacant WBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title in December, 2019 when he stopped Ariel Esteban Bracamonete in just 76 seconds. He also has wins over Sebastian Ceballos, Emilio Zarate and Julian Ruiz.
Prediction…
This fight features two heavyweight bangers who have been the distance just once between them in the pro ranks when Ehwarieme was taken four rounds in his debut 13 years ago. Ehwarieme is 35 years old now though and hasn’t fought in nearly a year and a half and doesn’t possess the greatest chin. It’s a bit surprising that Jalolov hasn’t fought tougher competition at this point considering his excellent amateur pedigree. He obviously owns tremendous power along with fine boxing skills, jab, footwork and a thunderous left hand and enters this fight as the huge favourite. Ehwarieme has the power to do some damage if he connects though but I’m going with Jalolov here by stoppage.
