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The Fight Team
October 13, 2023
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
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The Best Of The Rest
Tim Tszyu makes the first defence of his full WBO super-welterweight title over the weekend, as he takes on interim WBC title holder Brian Mendoza in Australia.
Tszyu won the title as a result of the then undisputed champion Jermell Charlo being stripped of his WBO strap following his unsuccessful challenge of Canelo Alvarez up at super-middleweight.
Having been not only the interim title holder but also Charlo’s mandatory challenger for over a year, the WBO upgraded the Australian to fully-fledged champion, which is no less than a fighter of his calibre deserves at this stage of his career.
As far as first defences go, Brian Mendoza will present a very difficult world title fight debut for the younger Tszyu. He’s coming off a devastating KO of the “Towering Inferno” Sebastian Fundora, in a fight where he was being regarded as the stepping stone for Fundora to go on and challenge for world title honours.
Mendoza has been beaten before twice, but his recent career momentum will give him the confidence he has what it takes to dethrone the newly minted champ.
Tszyu will want to make this the first of many titles he collects in the division, eventually looking to force a fight with the returning Charlo or even Terence Crawford if he moves up.
He’ll be wise to keep his eyes on the prize and not look past the confident and hard-hitting Mendoza, who has the ability to end his title reign before it’s even really got started.
What to look for in the fight:
Warmed up. Tim often takes a few rounds to get going behind a solid jab as he looks to establish his opponent’s timings. Look for Mendoza to start quickly and with high volume to disrupt the champ getting into a rhythm.
Low guard. Mendoza has the habit of dropping his hands when he resets. Look for Tim to try and catch him with a wide shot during one of these resets.
Late. Tszyu is one of the most underrated finishers in the sport and his decision-making when he has someone hurt is top-notch. Look for him to up the ante on his combinations from the 8th onwards, especially if Mendoza has started to tire from exerting himself early.
MMA Crossroads
It’s hard to believe that a competitor as talented as Edson Barboza, who has been in the UFC since 2010, has never been in a title fight since joining MMA’s premier fight promotion.
At 37, the clock is ticking for the Brazilian, who despite never having secured a shot at gold at either lightweight or featherweight, has beaten some very talented fighters and delivered highlight-reel knockouts that won’t be soon forgotten.
Barboza's victory over Billy Quarantillo, whose high-pressure wrestling seemed tailor-made to beat Barboza, served as a firm reminder of the skills and abilities he still possesses.
Sodiq Yusuff came into the UFC with a lot of hype, but his momentum seems to have stalled following his decision loss to (then) fellow prospect Arnold Allen in 2021. This was his first defeat since coming into the organisation, having gone 4-0 since winning Dana White’s Contender series.
He’s picked up two victories since his defeat to Allen, but Barboza represents his biggest test since, in terms of both talent and pedigree.
As seen last weekend with veteran Bobby Green’s KO of Chad Dawson, the UFC doesn’t do lay me ups for fighters moving up the ranks. If you want to compete, you need to beat high level veterans, and it’s harder to find a veteran at featherweight whose seen more in the octagon than Barboza.
Will Yusuff be able to push on and claim the biggest scalp of his UFC career so far, or will Barboza beat the younger man and make moves towards a first, and likely final, shot at the title?
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Tszyu vs Mendoza (Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 10:30pm Eastern/7:30pm Pacific | Main Event: 12:30am Eastern/9:30pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 3:30am | Main Event: 5:30am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 1:30pm Eastern/ 11:30am Western | Main event: 3:30pm Eastern/ 1:30pm Western
Boxing: Janibek vs Gualtieri (Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western
MMA: Yusuff vs Barboza (Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 12am | Main Event: 2am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 9am Eastern/ 7am Western | Main event: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western