Kenneth Sims Jr vs Botirzhon Akhmedov Preview May 13th, 2023
There’s a 12-round WBA junior welterweight eliminator on tap in Las Vegas this Saturday, May 13thas Kenneth Sims Jr of Chicago, Illinois takes on Botirzhon Akhmedov of Uzbekistan. The fight can be seen live in America on Showtime. Sims last fought in December when he stopped Rock Dodler Myrthil in the fifth round while Akhmedov last fought in August when he dropped a controversial split decision to Alberto Puello in a shot at the vacant WBA Jr Welterweight Title.
Sims Jr vs Akhmedov Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Botirzhon Akhmedov+130
- Kenneth Sims Jr. -160
My Pick
The 29-year-old “Bossman” Sims enters the ring with a record of 19-2-1 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed 116 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014. Prior to that he enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won the 2013 USA National Championships and reached the semifinals in 2011 and 2012. He also fought at the 2009 and 2010 USA Junior Nationals, reaching the final four. As a youngster, he fought in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 National Silver Gloves he won it in 2007 and made the semfinals the other two years.
Sims hasn’t really hit the big time as a pro yet as he lost an eight-round majority decision to Rolando Chinea in 2017 then drew over eight rounds with Montana Love in his next outing a year later for the vacant WBC Youth Silver Super Lightweight title. Two fights after that he dropped an eight-round unanimous decision to Samuel Teah. Sims stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and owns a 69-inch reach. As far as power goes, he’s a relatively light hitter as his current knockout ratio comes in at 31.8 per cent.
Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant WBC USA Super Lightweight title with an eight-round majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez in 2021 and the WBA Inter-Continental Crown with a fifth-round TKO over Cristian Mino last August. He’s also beaten the likes of Gilbert Venegas, Jermaine Corley and Keeshawn Williams, so he’s probably taking a slight step up in class this weekend.
As for Akhmedov, he’s 32 years old, fights out of Los Angeles and owns a mark of 9-2 with 8 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2017 and has 71 rounds under his belt since. He’s a southpaw who measures just over 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a 68.5-inch reach. He gives up 2.5-inches in reach to Sims and just half-an-inch in reach. As an amateur, Akhmedov fought in the World Series of Boxing and at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil where he went 2-1.
Akhmedov’s first pro defeat came at the hands of Mario Barros by unanimous decision in 2019 for the vacant WBA Super Lightweight Title and was dropped in the fourth and 12th rounds. As a pro he won the WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title as he got up from the canvas in round three to stop Ismael Barroso in the ninth round in his first defence in August, 2018 after winning the belt five months earlier via a 10-round unanimous decision over Ricky Sismundo.
He also has wins over Viktor Plotnikov, Rey Perez and Argenis Mendez. Akhmedov possessed pretty good power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 72.7 per cent, but he has been on the deck a few times as a pro. This is a good test for both former amateur standouts as they hope to land a shot at a world title as soon as possible.
Prediction…
Akhmedov has arguably fought stiffer opposition as a pro, but has fallen just short when it mattered the most, in his two world title shots. Sims may have the better overall boxing skills but he lacks the power to keep Akhmedov at bay. Sims will try to outbox him while Akhmedov will try to wear him out with power shots. It should be a close contest but I’ll give Akhmedov the slight edge here due to his style and power.
Play Akhmedov +130 @ BetOnline.ag
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Botirzhon Akhmedov betting • Kenneth Sims Jr betting