After Ivan’s absence from the heavyweight category due to an injury on his right arm Monster Michael Todd; the current light heavyweight world champion, has decided to go for his second belt at the heavyweight category.
He’ll be facing Dave “easy money” Chaffee for the interim title in Budapest, Hungary.
Dave has been the former heavyweight champion until he lost in a grinder of a match against Ivan Matyushenko.
Micheal has always caused a lot of trouble to Dave with his king’s move but this match is different for two reasons:
- In EVW the shoulder going below the elbow pad is considered a foul—it wasn’t the case in their previous encounter in WAL.
- Dave has developed a lethal press which he has used with great success against Vitaly Laletin and Frank Lamperalli.
But that doesn’t mean Michael hasn’t made any progress since then. He has sharpened his pulling style making it as effective as possible within the current rules. He is hungry and dedicated to be the best version of himself even at the age of 52.
Dealing with Michael’s king’s move takes much more strength and control than most athletes have. He took Vitaly’s wrist right at the center of the table while even Ermes Gasparini couldn’t keep his wrist when going sideways against the monster.
But unfortunately for Michael, Vitaly had the reach to press him while he had no more room to escape and Ermes had the ability to beat his riser, climb his hand and once he secured everything a press was all he needed to get the job done.
How might this match go?
The match is decided once the strap is applied. Todd would most likely be faster to hit and compromise Dave’s hand but that wouldn’t stop the sidepressure king to blast sideways and take the monster to the losing side.
If Dave can rise and press from that offensive position then light heavyweight champ would be in trouble. Doing that once or at max twice seems reasonable but the strong defense of the monster would take a toll on Dave as his arm might start to fatigue.
Once that happens then it can become a complete chaos as Dave would go all in on his press while Michael holds on for dear life. The match is going to turn towards the one who wants it more badly, has put in the extra effort and is mentally prepared for a battle.
Michael Todd has defeated Kamil Jablonski 3-0 in their first duel which makes is an undeniable feat of his capability to hold a press.
But did Kamil have the toprolling sidepressure to go through Michael’s hand? No.
But does Dave have the insane press that Kamil had? Most likely not.
Who do you think is going to become the new champion and why? Let us know in the comments.
