Isaac Chilemba vs Denis Grachev preview March 15
Light heavyweights Isaac Chilemba and Denis Grachev will go at it this Saturday, March 15 at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The 10-round showdown can be seen live across the USA on the NBC Sports Network. The bout is part of a sold-out card that will also feature heavyweights Tomasz Adamek and Vyacheslav Glazkov in the main event.
Chilemba will climb through the ring ropes with a record of 21-2-2 along with nine Kos while Grachev has a mark of 13-2-1 with eight Kos to his name. Both boxers have a couple of losses on their record and are in need of a victory here to see their careers progress to top-10 status. There’s no doubt that this is a very important fight for both men if they ever hope to become a world champion.
The 26-year-old Chilemba hails from Johannesburg, South Africa and he was once an IBO champion as a super middleweight. He’s an aggressive fighter but lacks the power to be regarded as a knockout artist. He throws plenty of punches though, but they just don’t seem to have a damaging effect on his opponents. He’s got a great chin though and has yet to be stopped. He’s won three, lost one and drawn one in his past five outings.
His last loss was a unanimous decision to Tony Bellew of Britain last year in London. He also has a draw against Bellew and a draw against Thomas Oosthuizen. Chilemba’s fought some other good boxers along the way and holds wins over Maxim Vlasov and Edison Miranda. He seems to fall just short when he steps up in class and his other loss came to Willbeforce Shihepo back in 2007. However, Chilemba avenged that defeat in a rematch soon after.
The 31-year-old Grachev of Russia has been in the ring against tougher opposition up to now, but he’s just 2-2 in his past four outings. He was stopped in the first round by Edwin Rodriguez last year and in 2012 he lost in Montreal to former world champion Lucian Bute by a unanimous decision. Grachev has a little more power than Chilemba, but this likely won’t make much of a difference since Chilemba has such a good chin.
Grachev’s most impressive showings have been against the previously undefeated Zsolt Erdei in March of last year and a 2011 fourth-round stoppage against Vladine Biosse. He also caused a stir when he stopped Ismayl Sillah in the eighth round in April of 2012.
Top Boxing Sportsbook: 5Dimes.eu
Widest Variety and Most Competitive Lines Online -> Visit Now!
Prediction
This is another great matchup as there isn’t a lot between these two boxers. Grachev has the edge in power, but Chilemba has the better chin. Chilemba is five years younger, but Grachev has more experience and has faced better opposition. Chilemba’s chin could be the difference here and since he’s naturally more aggressive and throws a lot of punches there’s a good chance he’s going to take this fight by decision.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights with a Grachev win being listed at +140 and a Chilemba victory at -180. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done of late capping the bouts.
Denis Grachev betting • Isaac Chilemba betting