By Ian S Palmer
Original article: https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/subriel-matias-vs-shohjahon-ergashev-betting-odds-and-prediction/22302/
IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Subriel Matias of Puerto Rico defends the belt for the first time when he takes on takes on undefeated Shohjahon Ergashev of Uzbekistan. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on Showtime pay per view and FITE TV on the undercard of the Benavidez vs Andrade bout. Matias won the vacant title in his last outing in February when he stopped Jeremias Ponce of Argentina in the fifth round of a slugfest. Ergashev last saw action in August, 2022 when he halted Angel Martinez Hernandez in the fifth round.
The 31-year-old southpaw Matias climbs into the ring with an impressive record of 19-1 with all 19 wins coming by Ko, which means he’s got a current knockout ratio of 94.7 per cent with 100 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage. He’s boxed 90 rounds since turning pro in 2016 following a brief amateur career and stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 71.5-inch reach.
The lone pro defeat on Matias’ record came at the hands of Petros Ananyan in 2020 via a close 10-round unanimous decision after Matias was dropped in the seventh round. He avenged that defeat two years later by stopping Ananyan in the ninth round. Matias’ biggest wins have been against Ponce, Patrick Lopez, Adrian Estrella, Breidis Prescott, Fernando Saucedo, Wilberth Lopez, Maxim Dadashev, Malik Hawkins and Batyrzhan Jukembayev. Sadly, Dadashev passed away at the age of 28 after sustaining injuries in the bout with Matias.
Ergashev, who fights out of Detroit, Michigan is a 31-year-old who makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 23-0 with 20 Ko’s and has boxed 68 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following his amateur career. He also carries excellent power with a current knockout ratio of 87 per cent. The southpaw measures just under 5-feet-11-inches in height with a 71-inch reach which sees him enter the fight with a 2.5-inch edge in height over Matias with a minimal half-inch reach disadvantage.
As far as pro competition goes, Ergashev hasn’t faced the elites of his division as of yet either as his biggest wins have come against Magomed Aldaganov, Sonny Fredrickson, Juma Waswa, Nazareno Gaston Ruiz, Mykal Fox, Adrian Estrella, Aekkawee Kaewmanee and Luis Alberto Veron. He has a tremendous left hand but sometimes has a problem landing them.
Prediction…
This is a world title fight between two relative unknowns on the world stage as they basically have weak resume’s up to now. Both guys can bang though and this has the potential to be the fight of the night. Matias has a high work rate but isn’t the hardest target to hit and has been dropped before. This could be a case of whoever lands the big blow first as both boxers have the power to turn a fight around with a single punch. It should be quite entertaining and a tough fight to predict but I’m leaning towards Matias due to his volume punching and athleticism.
