Saturday night on HBO Latino Arif “The Mayhem” Magomedov (16-0, 9 KOs) the young phenom from Chekhov, Russia will face southpaw Jonatan “Oso” Tavira (12-3, 9 KOs) from the Glendale Civic Auditorium in Glendale, CA. The scouting report for this exciting match-up is below:
Category | Arif “The Mayhem” Magomedov | Jonatan “Oso” Tavira |
Age | 23 | 31 |
Record | 16-0-0 (9 KOs) | 12-3-0 (9 KOs) |
Strength | Arif possesses power in his hands and puts together effective combinations. He fights hungry and applies pressure throughout the contest. | Tavira is a southpaw fighter with fast hand speed and solid knockout power in both hands. He fights with an aggressive style similar to Arif’s, which should make for an intriguing fight. |
Weakness | The Mayhem has not yet faced a fighter who portrays the same aggressive, in-your-face style that he employs. | Jonatan has a suspect chin after being stopped twice in his career. |
Experience | Arif has fought more experienced and seasoned opposition than Tavira has. | Oso has a slight experience disadvantage. |
Power | Arif throws powerful combinations and accurate body shots. He has a unique ability to physically break his opponents down throughout the fight. | With nine of his twelve wins coming by way of knockout, Tavira is proven to have heavy hands and the ability to finish fights. |
Speed | He has solid speed that comes on display during his vicious combinations | Tavira has good speed that works to his advantage when his opposition decides to stand and trade with him. |
Endurance | Arif has gone a full 12 rounds once back in 2014, and has been 10 rounds on three separate occasions, including his most recent bout. | Jonatan has gone 10 rounds twice in his career, which he won by unanimous decision. |
Accuracy | The Mayhem very accurate, he likes to fight from a close distance which makes it a little easier for him to hit his target. | Oso is a southpaw with a good jab and a super sharp and accurate left hand that he has used to stop previous opponents. |
Defense | Arif cuts off the ring well, which makes his opponents uncomfortable. It also makes it difficult for some of his opponents to get their punches off. | Tavira’s offense is his best defense: his accuracy and aggressive style has been effective in overwhelming his opponents. |
Chin | Magomedov was knocked down early in his career but managed to recover and finish the fight. Since then he has not been in any real danger. | Jonatan has been stopped twice in his career. |
Style | Arif has an aggressive, in-your-face style.He likes to walk his opponents down, unleashing vicious combinations along the way. | Tavira is a southpaw fighter who likes to dictate the pace, he prefers to stand and trade with his opponents in hopes of ending the night early. |
Intangibles | The Mayhem has continuously strived to mix up his opposition and improve his game. He took on a durable veteran in Darnell Boone, whom he stopped early, then out-boxed a slick technical fighter in Derrick Webster. He has completely flipped the switch now and will test his skillset with a fighter whose style is dangerously similar to his own. | Oso has spent most of his career competing against lesser opposition with similar styles to his own. However, he now has the opportunity to seize the moment against a highly regarded and #2 ranked WBO middleweight contender in Magomedov. This is a fight that can be the game-changer in the young career of the tough Mexican slugger. |
Crowd Support | Arif should have solid crowd support; he trains in the Glendale area and isrising quicklythrough the boxing ranks. His aggressive and physical style is also appealing to many boxing fans. | Jonatan may not be well-known to the boxing public, but his fan-friendly style will undoubtedly win him some crowd support throughout the bout. |
The Match-up |
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Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “Whenever we get two guys who are both very aggressive fighters in the ring together, I expect fireworks. We’ve seen The Mayhem excel against more defensive fighters before, so I’m interested to see how he does with an opponent like Jonatan who will use the same kind of tactics and pressure against Arif that he uses on his opponents.”
