By Anthony George – On March 2nd, ESPN + serves up an intriguing featherweight showdown between a couple of undefeated southpaws at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Otabek Kholmatov (12-0, 11 KOs) and Raymond Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs) will battle for the vacant WBA featherweight championship. The betting odds suggest a close contest that provides fans with a lot of intrigue. Let us take a closer look:

The Skinny:

Otabek Kholmatov is a southpaw who stands 5’9, with a 69 inch-reach. He fights tall and keeps his opponents off balance with an educated right jab. He likes to use the whole ring and does so with competent lateral movement. While not blessed with super speed, he is active. Otbaek likes to dig his left hand into the body and can shoot a right hook off his jab from distance. When comfortable, the man they call Bruce Lee will change levels with his jab- jabbing to the belly and darting a stiff left uppercut as an impressive power punch.

As a side note, Boxrec lists him as 5’7, while DAZN has listed him as 5’9.

Raymond Ford is also a southpaw. ‘Savage’ has quick hands, and his best punch is a looping right hook from the southpaw stance. While Otabek is a Bruce Lee lookalike, Ford has a striking resemblance to Floyd Mayweather. Ford does have a draw on his record against Aaron Perez and was very lucky to come away with a decision against Edward Vazquez in February of 2022. His best performance was his last against veteran Jessie Magdaleno. Proving he can be the best against a well-regarded southpaw.

What to look for:

The wildcard in this fight is, who exactly is Raymond Ford? While he looks like Mayweather from the southpaw stance, there are very few similarities in terms of work product. Ford presents as a slick cutie, but he gets hit a lot. He tends to back up in a straight line. A good boxer should not have much trouble cutting off the ring. Which is precisely what Kholmatov is. At the same time, we have not necessarily seen the best of what Raymond Ford could offer. However, I believe what you see is what you get from Otabek. Which is no walk in the park.

While this is a solid fight that should be highly anticipated by boxing fans, the fact that both fighters are comfortable backing up and Otabek is a solid lateral mover, there is a danger that this could become a boring fight between two southpaws who want to play chess. However, both guys have a little hotdog in them, so I lean towards high-level entertainment.

Prediction:

Regarding betting, I would not touch this fight with a billionaire’s money. But for prediction purposes, let us break it down. The best way to beat Otabek is to make him feel uncomfortable on the inside. Close the distance and smother him. Andranik Grigorian had some success doing this in their fight. Everything we have seen from Raymond Ford suggests that tactic is not in his toolbox.

Furthermore, the looping right hook, Ford’s money punch, does not appear to be a high percentage punch against Otabek. At the very least, you would have to think the Otabek camp is prepared for Ford’s best shot at hurting them.  

In the end, Otabek has too many checkmarks in his favor. Even potential ring rust. Ford last fought in April of 2023, while Otabek fought in December. Ford’s best shot is to unleash a version of himself we have yet to see; that is probably not enough against a guy who is active with both hands, can move, and does not forget to go the body.

Otabek Kholmatov by unanimous decision.