Nugaev-Shafikov Preview:
This week’s edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights features
two Russians, Rustam Nugaev and Denis Shafikov in an IBF eliminator in the
Lightweight division. Denis Shafikov fought the current IBF champ Miguel Vazquez
in his last bout in Macau, China, while Rustam Nugaev has made somewhat of a
name for himself to American fight fans by being a regular on Friday Night
Fights in the past year.
Rustam Nugaev is an interesting fighter, merely looking at
his record does not tell the full story. With six losses in his career, it’s
easy to brush him off as a journeyman being put in front of the more seasoned
Shafikov to make him look good and put him back in the 130lb title picture.
That certainly isn’t the case and Rustam Nugaev will be looking to be the Antonio
Margarito-esque opponent Vazquez has desperately been craving to hunt the IBF
champ down and give American fight fans something more to talk about when it
comes to the IBF king.
Nugaev’s record is a bit deceptive- he's won all of his
fights in America except a 2005-decision loss to Jairo Rafael Ramirez in Las
Vegas in which he managed to drop him and lose a close fight on the cards. He’s
had two long periods of inactivity in his career but since coming back onto the
scene in 2013, made a big splash by taking out undefeated Peruvian prospect
Jonathan Maicelo with a huge one-shot knockout that ultimately put him on
notice and brought him back on Friday Night Fights fight cards four more times.
Nugaev
is 13-1 since 2006, with his only loss since 2006 being against tough Uzbek Alisher
Rahimov, who himself has fought on ESPN2 against Ji-Hoon Kim in 2012. Make no
mistake, Nugaev is a limited, one-dimensional fighter, but his style makes for
great entertainment, as evident by his fights on Friday Night Fights thus far.
What he lacks in overall skillset he makes up for with his toughness, grit and
ability to make his opponents dig deep with non-stop pressure and action. He
seems to have a fantastic chin and will need it against the more seasoned fighter
Shafikov tomorrow night.
Denis Shafikov comes into this fight off his lone career
defeat against Miguel Vazquez. He has made it clear he is determined to avenge
his defeat and take the IBF crown from Vazquez. Shafikov was bloodied and
busted in a fight in which he couldn’t figure out the formula to adjust to
Vazquez’s tough style and height. Shafikov is only 5’5 and has had success
taking out taller opponents in the past- such as Albert Mensah, but couldn’t
quite find success against the outstanding boxing ability of Vazquez.
Shafikov is far more polished then Nugaev and likes to mix
it up- he can box but he can also bang. Nugaev is also 5’10 but does not fight
like a tall fighter and that could very well play into the advantage of Shafikov
who will have no trouble finding his target tomorrow night. Shafikov is a quick
fighter and has great footwork, Nugaev struggled a bit against the speed and
footwork of Marvin Quintero in his last fight and I expect Shafikov to start
off by keeping his distance from Nugaev and feeling him out, while Nugaev
stalks him from the opening bell. The interesting thing about this fight is
whether or not Nugaev will be able lure Shafikov into a firefight and force him
to fight on the inside. On the flipside, Nugaev has a negligent defense and does
not utilize his jab often and if Shafikov does decide to get inside and trade
punches, Nugaev could have trouble dealing with the short, compact punches of
Shafikov as he did against Rahimov.
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