Tursunov vs Lozan Predictions: Super lightweight showdown in Saudi

Mujibillo Tursunov faces fellow unbeaten prospect Danylo Lozan this Saturday, October 18 at the BLVD City Global Theater in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout is a semi-final in the WBC Boxing Grand Prix, a tournament that comprised an initial 128 fighters from four weight categories. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN and feature all the semis in the featherweight, super lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions.

Read on for my Tursunov vs Lozan predictions.

Tursunov vs Lozan Odds

This is a close one, which augurs well for the quality of this as a contest. Tursunov is priced at 6/5 while Lozan is a narrow 8/11 favourite. If you fancy these 140-pounders to cancel each other out, the draw is 16/1.

Tursunov vs Lozan Fight Preview

All to play for in this one. A slot in the super lightweight final of the WBC Boxing Grand Prix awaits, with Carlos Utria and Ntethelelo Nkosi duking it out on the other side of the bracket. The single-elimination format is nothing new in boxing, but the WBC are hoping to showcase the next generation of prospects rather than highlighting the ready-made superstars like the old Super Six Boxing Classic and World Boxing Super Series did.

A valiant effort, even if a shot at the spurious “WBC silver title” is a low-rent prize. The point of that belt is about as quantifiable as trying to count the entire nation’s farts by hand. But you also get a couple of hundred grand and a trophy named after WBC founder Jose Sulaiman. Nice one.

Tursunov got here the long way, going the full six-round distance in each of his contests so far. The competition represented quite a leap from the journeymen and debutant opponents he’d faced in his 5-0 career in his home of Uzbekistan.

Lagos’ Michael Adesodun came with a 9-1-1 record laden with eight stoppage victories, but it was Tursunov who had his man on the floor. Adesodun heard the final bell, but lost widely on the cards. 

Another points victory followed for the Uzbekistan-born boxer, who out-scored unbeaten Argentinian super lightweight champion Alan Ezequiel Dutra via majority decision. Dutra had KO’ed his first round opponent and Tursunov had to work hard to get past him in a real tear-up.

Awaiting in the quarters was Misael Cabrera Urias, a more experienced campaigner than most in the tourney. The Mexican came in having boxed in multiple 10-rounders, including going the distance with Mathieu Germain, the Canadian who went 12 sessions with Sheffield’s world-ranked Dalton Smith in April. But he was no match for Tursunov, who got the job done despite losing a point in the third round for low blows.

Lozan is no stranger to knocking boxers from Uzbekistan out of this tournament. His Grand Prix opener saw the Ukrainian beat southpaw Kamronbek Eshmatov via a comfortable unanimous decision.

Canada’s Eric Basran stood in Lozan’s way in the round of 16 and was taken out before the end of round three. The quarter final against Sanatali Toltayev troubled him far more. It was tight on the cards when Lozan was handed a technical decision in round five, after a cut rendered him unable to continue. Level on one card and ahead by two points on the others, the fight was still in the balance with a pair of sessions to be scored.

Not much to split these two. Both were firmly domestic-level propositions coming in, but that is largely the point of this tournament with the odd exception. The Basran finish showed killer instinct, but Toltayev came closer to beating Lozan than any of Tursunov’s three tournament opponents did to unseating him. It is well-poised this one.

Tursunov vs Lozan Full Card

Carlos Utria vs Ntethelelo Nkosi

Carlos Sinisterra vs Derek Pomerleau

Mujibillo Tursunov vs Danylo Lozan

Brandon Mejia Mosqueda vs Bekizizwe Maitse

Muhamet Qamili vs Yoni Valverde Jr

Ahmed Krnjic vs Keaton Gomes

Dante Stone vs Kevin Cristopher Ramirez

Dylan Biggs vs Lancelot Proton de la Chapelle

Tursunov vs Lozan Prediction

Tursunov can take to the trenches. We saw that against Dutra. But he does not hit particularly hard when he gets there. Two knockouts from eight fights is not the record of a slugger. Lozan’s nine finishes in 15 bouts is a bit better, but none of those finishes came against a fighter as good as Tursunov.

Lozan is a gifted southpaw who stalks his man well. But he does leave that chin hanging out to dry a little too often for my liking. If Tursunov can negotiate the reach and awkwardness of his opponent, I think his compact style is made for this fight. Tursunov to win at 6/5.

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