EKATERINBURG, Russia -- The quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament will have a title on the line. That title will be brought to the ring by heavy-hitting South African Zolani Tete (27-3, 21 KOs). Across the ring from Tete will be amateur standout Mikhail Aloyan (4-0, 0 KOs) who will be trying to take Tete's WBO title home. The fight will stream live on DAZN on Oct. 13.
Tete is a tall bantamweight with very long arms. He fights out of the orthodox stance and has shown very good power. The champion likes to work behind a busy jab and has a snake bit straight left hand that can do serious damage. For a tall fighter Tete also does a nice job of attacking the body and when he has an opponent hurt he is skilled at going in for the kill and finishing the job. Also, along with his best punch, the straight left hand, he also possesses a good right hook. Tete is not without his flaws though. He has been knocked out before and dropped on a few occasions, although he probably won't have to worry much about Aloyan's power.
The last time Tete lost a fight was back in 2012. In fact all three of his career losses came between 2010 and 2012 and since his last loss he's gone 11-0 with seven knockouts. He has faced pretty solid competition during his time as a professional and most recently he won every single round against tough veteran Omar Narvaez. This will be Tete's third defense of his WBO title and he will have to defend it in Aloyan's backyard.
Aloyan will enter the ring giving up nearly 5-inches in height to Tete. He also doesn't have much power and has yet to score a knockout or knockdown as a pro. Aloyan is a confident fighter who loves to use his legs. He shows excellent lateral movement but isn't very offensively minded. He fights out of the southpaw stance but can easily switch stances and spend like stretches fighting as an orthodox fighter. From both stances he doesn't do much offensively besides throw straight punches with his off hand. When Aloyan is in the orthodox stance he flashes a nice straight right hand and as a southpaw his straight left hand is his most used weapon. However, he doesn't stay on his jab and doesn't throw nearly enough punches.
Most professional fighters with only four career fights don't get title shots. Especially when in those four fights they haven't scored a knockout or looked overly impressive. However. Aloyan had an excellent amateur career. His amateur career is littered with medals including a gold at the 2010 European Championships, a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, two golds and a bronze at the World Championships, and a gold at the World Cup. Still, Aloyan's hasn't yet fully adapted to the professional style and that could really hurt him against Tete.
If Aloyan wants to win this fight he will need to do two things very well. First, he will need to be much busier than usual with his punch output while also sitting down on his punches. Secondly, Aloyan will really need to keep his feet moving because he can't afford to stand and trade with the bigger man, and puncher in Tete. Look for Tete to come out aggressively because he knows Aloyan doesn't have the power to really hurt him. As long as Tete can cut off the ring and keep Aloyan where he wants him, he should be able to do plenty of damage.
PREDICTION: Mikhail Aloyan is definitely a skilled fighter but he hasn't yet fully adjusted to the professional style of boxing. That, and the fact that he doesn't have much power, will greatly hurt Aloyan against Zolani Tete. Tete is going to dominate this fight on his way to a sixth round stoppage.
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| Tete moments after dropping his opponent |
The last time Tete lost a fight was back in 2012. In fact all three of his career losses came between 2010 and 2012 and since his last loss he's gone 11-0 with seven knockouts. He has faced pretty solid competition during his time as a professional and most recently he won every single round against tough veteran Omar Narvaez. This will be Tete's third defense of his WBO title and he will have to defend it in Aloyan's backyard.
Aloyan will enter the ring giving up nearly 5-inches in height to Tete. He also doesn't have much power and has yet to score a knockout or knockdown as a pro. Aloyan is a confident fighter who loves to use his legs. He shows excellent lateral movement but isn't very offensively minded. He fights out of the southpaw stance but can easily switch stances and spend like stretches fighting as an orthodox fighter. From both stances he doesn't do much offensively besides throw straight punches with his off hand. When Aloyan is in the orthodox stance he flashes a nice straight right hand and as a southpaw his straight left hand is his most used weapon. However, he doesn't stay on his jab and doesn't throw nearly enough punches.
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| Aloyan having his hand raised in victory as an amateur |
If Aloyan wants to win this fight he will need to do two things very well. First, he will need to be much busier than usual with his punch output while also sitting down on his punches. Secondly, Aloyan will really need to keep his feet moving because he can't afford to stand and trade with the bigger man, and puncher in Tete. Look for Tete to come out aggressively because he knows Aloyan doesn't have the power to really hurt him. As long as Tete can cut off the ring and keep Aloyan where he wants him, he should be able to do plenty of damage.
PREDICTION: Mikhail Aloyan is definitely a skilled fighter but he hasn't yet fully adjusted to the professional style of boxing. That, and the fact that he doesn't have much power, will greatly hurt Aloyan against Zolani Tete. Tete is going to dominate this fight on his way to a sixth round stoppage.
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