Great match up! Always liken this to Willie Pep vs Alexis Arguello style wise at Flyweight. To me I think this would have been a real close fight than and would be similar to his fight against Betulio Gonzalez. I’ll slightly favor Canto but a KO from Arbachakov isn’t out of the question. Canto’s movement will cause a lot of problems for Arbachakov methodical style.
Agreed almost 95%, only i think Canto would win a not-so-close decision. Yuri was terrific, but I see him as a bit too methodical for Canto - I think to beat Canto you need for instance - Zapata's physical gifts from the outside- or Chang/Harada's frenetic pressure. Canto by UD over Yuri.
Yeah, sure. I wouldn't pick him, but I can definitely see him having success and maybe winning. As someone so skilled as Arbachakov, as well as enjoying massive physical advantages in length, power, strength, weight, etc; I can see him landing some heavy, isolated, shots and dealing damage in spots. I can also see him being hard to out-box, due to his size and skills. Canto was a phenom, though and I think he'll turn Arbachakov in a similar fashion to that he did Gonzalez, Avelar, Oguma, etc; and Yuri wouldn't be able to set. I don't mean to insinuate that Yuri couldn't punch while moving, just that he couldn't punch with authority while moving, which I don't think gives Canto much to worry about. Combined with Yuri's fairly average reflexes, for someone on that level, I think Canto lands his jab aplenty, and while I can't remember anyone having insessant success with the uppercut, Arbachakov strikes me as a guy who'd be open to one, like most EE fighters with that style. I think Canto works his jab and makes Yuri constantly reset, and when he does get in close, Canto goes Mexican style with the double hooks, and works that tight uppercut. Like I said, Yuri offers a challenge in terms of his in-ring presence, and physical gifts. But in the end, I think Canto's class and skill prevail. He is, after all, a much, much better fighter.
