Is it a cheap imitation or a glorious tribute act? Would you be willing to accept a boxer who has modeled himself on the ‘Greatest’ Muhammad Ali? Right from his boxing style to his trunks, as well as his hairstyle, the pugilist attempts to channel Ali right to the tee. Famously, in an in-ring interview, Dominican boxer Michel Rivera, nicknamed “La Zarza Ali” announced to the fans, “I am the reincarnation of Muhammad Ali. I am cute, I am Muhammad Ali”. Although there is a striking resemblance, Rivera is shorter in size and stature compared to Ali, competing in the lightweight division. Nonetheless, he isn’t the finished product just yet to be deserving of the moniker of ‘Ali’. Although the dream of becoming a world champion seems a bit distant at the moment, the twenty-six-year-old boxer will be squaring up against an Argentinian boxer Hugo Alberto Roldan in his upcoming super-lightweight fight on the undercard of the Claressa Shields vs. Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse main event this Saturday night at Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit, which will be broadcasted live on DAZN.

The 31-year-old Roldan has not created much of a buzz in the boxing world. In fact, both fighters haven’t challenged for a world title yet. Nonetheless, let’s analyze the physical attributes and boxing records of both pugilists to determine who is likely to come out on top in the upcoming showdown.

Paper talk: Who has a better boxing resume?

Michel Rivera would have had a perfect boxing record if it wasn’t for his defeat against elite lightweight boxer Frank Martin. In the fight, he was dropped for the second time in his career, as Martin handed him a unanimous decision loss in 2022. However, he recovered from the setback quite well and made an impressive debut at 140 lbs. Rivera defeated former IBF super-lightweight champion Sergey Lipinets via a unanimous decision win.

The former lightweight contender recently signed with Salita Promotions. On the auspicious occasion, Michel Rivera said, “I am excited about reaching my goal of being a world champion. I am excited to work with Salita and to fight on DAZN, where there are the biggest stars in the super lightweight division. These fights will allow me to reach championship star status, and that’s all I want.” The 26-year-old boxer made his professional debut in 2016 and now has a boxing record of 25-1.

Meanwhile, the Argentinian fighter Hugo Roldan barely has any elite names in his boxing record. He endured one more loss than Rivera in his career and was defeated in two of his final three fights. Both were decision losses against Batyrzhan Jukembayev and Joseph Adorno. Hugo Roldan is coming into this fight after a split-decision loss against Jukembayev. Apart from a few regional titles, the Argentinian’s boxing prowess hasn’t been tested against a world championship-level boxer yet. Roldan made his debut in 2017 and has padded up a record of  22-2-1.

Both boxing records are so close that it’s hard to determine who will ultimately prevail. Perhaps a deeper examination of their physical attributes would provide a clearer picture.

Michel Rivera vs. Hugo Alberto Roldan: Tale of the Tape

Rivera is the fresher boxer out of the two, with youth on his side. He is five years younger than Roldan. Additionally, “La Zarza Ali” also has more professional boxing experience than his competitor at such a young age. So far so good, for the Muhammad Ali imitator. Additionally, Rivera also has a slight physical advantage over his opponent, having a height of  5′ 9″ with 71″ reach, compared to Roldan’s 5′ 8″ height.

Furthermore, power is on Rivera’s side, finishing fourteen of his twenty-six opponents before the final bell, and notching up a KO rate of 56%. Comparatively, Hugo Roldan has only knocked out seven of his twenty-five opponents, securing a measly 31.82% KO ratio.

In terms of weight, Rivera made his debut in the super-lightweight division in his last fight against Sergey Lipinets in November last year. Meanwhile, Roldan has been fighting in the division for quite a long time. Nonetheless, it isn’t too big a jump in weight class for Rivera for it to become a problem.

Taking into account the aforementioned features of both the fighters, Michel Rivera seems to be in pole position to get the win. All he has to do is ‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee‘. Using his height to his advantage, he needs to fight on the outside and keep teeing his opponent off with his jabs. Footwork is key as he needs to keep moving and look for the opportune moment to unleash his power punches that would knock Roldan down on the canvas.

If you want to witness Rivera’s devastating knockout combination, watch his jab followed by a right hand against Jon Fernandez in the eighth round of their 2021 showdown. It’s worth replaying over and over. He might be aiming for a similar spectacular finish on the night of July 27.

With a division as exciting as the super lightweight filled with elite fighters like Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez Jr., Subriel Matias, and Issac Cruz, an impressive performance by Rivera might just put him on the radar of one of these guys. As for Hugo Roldan, an upset win could change his fortunes and eventually thrust himself out of relative obscurity.

Who would you be rooting for? Michel Rivera or Hugo Alberto Roldan? Let us know in the comment section below.