Krzysztof Wlodarczyk vs Grigory Drozd Preview Sept 27
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk of Poland will be attempting to defend his WBC Cruiserweight Championship this Saturday, September 27 at the Dynamo Sports Palace in Moscow when he takes on European champion Grigory Drozd of Russia. The 12-round bout will be shown live on pay-per-view in the USA by Integrated Sports. This will be Wlodarczyk’s seventh title defence since winning the crown back in 2010.
The 33-year-old Wlodarczyk enters the contest with a record of 49-2-1 with 35 Kos while the 35-year-old Drozd is 38-1 along with 27 Kos. The only defeat on Drozd’s record came back in 2006 when he was stopped in the fifth round in a WBA title elimination bout by former World Champion Firat Arslan. He’s heading into the fight with a 13-bout winning streak over the past two years after sitting out of the sport for a couple of years. This is likely to be Drozd’s one and only chance at a world title and he’s planning on making the best of it.
Wlodarczyk was beaten by a fourth-round technical decision by Pavel Melkomyan in 2003 and again in 2007 when he was defeated by Steve Cunningham via a majority decision. He’s also on a 13-fight undefeated streak with eight of his wins coming in world title bouts. Wlodarczyk has quite a bit of experience since turning pro back in 2000 as he’s faced the likes of Cunningham, Danny Green, Francisco Palacios, and Giacobbe Fragomeni.
This fight has the potential to be quite explosive as both men have good knockout power in their fists. Wlodarczyk has been dropped before and Drozd has been stopped so we know they’re not invincible. Both fighters realize this and respect each other and it isn’t going to be a shock if there is a knockdown or three along the way here. But this isn’t to say that the fight won’t go the distance as that’s also a distinct possibility.
Drozd didn’t have much of an amateur career and his background lies in kickboxing. He stands Wlodarczyk is six-foot-one-inch with a 75-inch reach while Drozd is six-foot-one with an unlisted reach. Drozd has also fought some recognizable names since turning pro in 2001 as he’s taken on Richard Hall, Saul Montana, Rob Calloway, Darnell Wilson, and Arslan.
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Prediction
Fans should be in for an action-packed night when the bell rings for Wlodarczyk and Drozd. There isn’t really too much between them when it comes to age and even experience. However, the champion is definitely more used to big-time title fights and knows what it takes to defend his crown. They can both bang with the best of them and while it’s tempting to predict a knockout here, there’s a decent chance that this goes the full 12 rounds. Expect to see Wlodarczyk retain his belt via a close 12-round decision in Drozd’s backyard with a late stoppage also a possibility.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights with a Drozd win being listed at -125 and a Wlodarczyk victory at +105. 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.
Grigory Drozd betting • Krzysztof Wlodarczyk betting