Zolani Tete vs Mikhail Aloyan Preview Oct. 13th
The World Boxing Super Series is in action in Ekateringburg, Russia this Saturday, October 13th with WBO Bantamweight Champion Zolani Tete of South Africa defending his belt against unbeaten Mikhail Aloyan of Armenia. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN. The southpaw Tete last fought in April when he beat Omar Narvaez by unanimous decision. Aloyan’s last contest took place in February when he beat Alexander Espinoza via a 10-round split decision to retain his WBA International Bantamweight Title.
Tete vs Aloyan Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mikhail Aloyan +310
- Zolani Tete -375
My Pick
The 30-year-old Tete fought over 400 times as an amateur and reportedly lost just three times. He turned pro in 2006 and has 169 rounds under his belt since then. Tete has also won the WBF World, and WBO Africa Flyweight Title since turning pro along with the IBF World, and WBO Africa Super Flyweight Title and the IBF International, and interim WBO World Bantamweight Titles. He’ll be climbing into the ring on Saturday with a fine record of 27-3 along with 21 Kos.
Tete has gone 4-1 in world title fights with 2 Ko’s and is 3-2 with 2 Ko’s against former or current world champions. His biggest wins have been against Victor Ruiz, Arthur Villanueva, Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr, Paul Butler and Omar Andres Narvaez with his losses coming to Moruti Mthalane, Juan Alberto Rosas (majority decision) and Roberto Domingo Sosa (split decision) with Mthalane being the only man to stop him, which he did in the fifth round back in 2010.
Tete stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a wingspan of 72 inches. He has better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 70 per cent and famously knocked out Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds after landing the first punch of the fight in November of 2017. Tete has been dropped a couple of times before and of course has been stopped, but he still has a relatively solid chin. He has plenty of experience, hasn’t been beaten since 2012 and has won his last 11 fights.
As for Aloyan, he’s 30 years old, fights out of Russia and is also a southpaw. Most fans may never have heard of him and that’s understandable since he’s fought just four times since turning pro in May of 2017. Since then, he’s fought 42 rounds, has gone 4-0 and hasn’t stopped anybody as yet. He beat Yader Cardoza by10-round unanimous decision in his debut and then won the vacant WBC Silver Super Flyweight Title in his next bout two months later with a unanimous decision over Marvin Solano.
Aloyan’s third contest was a 10-round split decision over Hermogenes Castillo for the vacant WBA International Bantamweight Crown last December and he defended that belt by split decision over Espinoza earlier this year. Before turning pro, Aloyan captured gold medals as a flyweight at the 2011and 2013 World Amateur Boxing Championships. He also won bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London and a silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
However, the silver medal from the 2016 Olympics was taken away from him after failing a drug test. There’s no doubt Aloyan had an excellent amateur career and won several other medals at various tournaments with wins over Andrew Selby, Khalid Yafai and Rau’shee Warren, but he still needs pro experience as his last two fights were split decisions and arguably could have gone either way. Aloyan gives up 4.5 inches in height to Tete as well as 5.5 inches in reach.
Prediction…
Nobody really knows how long Aloyan was on the juice before failing his drug test, but he hasn’t been that convincing in his last two pro outings. He’s got good boxing skills and a decent chin, but isn’t the most powerful puncher out there. Tete has a wealth more pro experience and power and that should enable him to retain his title and move on to the next round of the World Boxing Super Series against either Nonito Donaire or Ryan Burnett.
Tete’s pro experience should be the difference here.
Play: Tete -375 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Mikhail Aloyan betting • Zolani Tete betting