Not saying K. Khubezhty can beat Burroughs but

[Tripster 0]

If I were looking for a wrestler to beat Burroughs his style fits the best. At Russian Nationals he looked aggressive, scrappy, quick and refused to give up. He was good at converting attacks into his own points. He was great on the mat. Those are the qualities you need in a wrestler to challenge Burroughs. We will see!

 

By the way, he was voted the best wrestler at Russian nationals.

[TripNSweep 357]

Didn't Burroughs tech him the last time they met? I don't think he has any better a chance now than he did at BTS.

 

Russian Coach: All right, Khubezhty, I'm not gonna lie to you. There's a good

chance you can beat Burroughs. But you gotta visualize how you're gonna win, okay?

 

Khubezhty: Gotcha.

[dreams on about his victory]

Announcer: A congenital heart defect has apparently felled Burroughs moments

before he could step onto the mat.

[bwh27 30]

That was a different Khubezhty, though I think they're related. The Khubezhty who Burroughs beat in NYC and LA (even worse with the new rules) matched up well with him due to his chest lock defense, perhaps the best at 74kg in the world. This other Khubezhty appears to be more versatile, and a better wrestler overall. I'm not sure I agree with Tripster that he's the perfect match-up for JB, but he's definitely a tough opponent. This Khubezhty has losses this season, so on paper Burroughs has to be the favorite. However, Sharifov had losses the season that he rolled through 2011 Worlds, so if this Russian is peaking at the right time he could be Burroughs' toughest test yet. He looked awesome against Tsargush (the most boring* and cheap elite wrestler in the world) even factoring in Tsargush's lackluster performance.

 

* = with the exception of his Burroughs matches which are very fun to watch. He's extremely skilled which is what makes his singlet grabbing and boring style against other opponents like Goudarzi so frustrating. Burroughs would make a match against an inanimate object entertaining.

[BAC 82]

I can't imagine why anyone would say he has no shot against JB. The two Tsargush-JB matches are extremely close. Tsargush took him down down repeatedly at the Olympics. JB just had a little bit more both times. If this guy can beat Tsargush then he is a threat to beat JB.

 

That said, it seems like JB has a style that one can adjust to, as Tsargush did in his second match, but is awfully hard to manage the first time. That plays to JB's hand here.

[AnklePicker 383]

If you are dependent on tying up to get your takedowns, as this guy and most Russians are, you are going to have a very hard time beating JB. You might sneak in a couple here or there but over the course of a 6 minute match good luck. I think a guy who can counter what JB does, like his brothers chest lock, has a much better chance.

[Specops76 1]

Agree with anklepicker. Nobody wrestles from the open like Burroughs and the guys like Howe and Tsargush who try to beat him by tying him up never win (although they do keep the match very close). JB will not allow anyone to tie him up for an entire match and unless someone learns how to stop his offense (unlikely), they will probably always fall a little short of beating him.

 

Eventually someone will beat JB, but I dont think it will be this years representative from Russia, whether its Khubezhty or Tsargush.

[bwh27 30]

Agree with anklepicker. Nobody wrestles from the open like Burroughs and the guys like Howe and Tsargush who try to beat him by tying him up never win (although they do keep the match very close). JB will not allow anyone to tie him up for an entire match and unless someone learns how to stop his offense (unlikely), they will probably always fall a little short of beating him.

I think this may be backwards. Burroughs is so good right now that no style matches up well with him, but wrestlers who like to keep open space cannot compete with Jordan's attacks -- case in point, the first minute of his match with David Taylor when he scored three takedowns. In the second period, DT adjusted and wrestled more inside. While Howe was getting throttled by Geduev (who JB beat handily at the first BTS), he wrestled a very tight match with Burroughs. That's because his style actually suits him well against Burroughs IMO. Still, as you said he's yet to allow anyone to tie him up for an entire match.

[AnklePicker 383]

I hear you bwh but my point is when you can wrestle from the outside you can dictate the match. If he doesn't want to tie up he doesn't have to. Unless you can beat him at his own game or use it against him I like his chances. Many of our best ever were great from the outside. The Russians are master tie up guys. Hard to compete with them in that regard.

[Hubbard 426]

He was impressive at Nationals, but he's never impressed me otherwise. I think Burroughs is safe.

[superfluidity 4]

He can beat Jordan, definitely, we ought to be worried about him, one leglace locked up in the right place and it's over.

 

I think that he and the Azerbiajani, Aliev? I can't recall his name, represent Jordan's only two threats if there's no Goudarzi.

 

We'd be fools to think that Burroughs is invincible, there's no room for error, no blank slates at the beginnings of periods, and no room to lose a match during pool competition.

 

Jordan, particularly against a Russian who can put up big points fast, is at greater risk than ever