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    Mike Riordan •

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    Riordan's Roundup: July 4, 2013

    For this week's roundup we will take a look at the prospects for Team USA freestyle wrestlers at 74 kilos, 84 kilos, 96 kilos, and 120 kilos at this year's World Championship in September.

    Jordan Burroughs, 74 kilos

    Jordan Burroughs should be the biggest favorite to win his weight of any wrestler at this tournament. When was the last time an American could claim this? It has certainly been a while.

    Jordan finds himself in a favorable position. His previous two biggest threats from the past two years, Russia's Denis Tsargush and Iran's Sadegh Goudarzi, look like they won't be in the field this year. I suppose that Jordan's biggest threat will come in the form of Tamar Khubezhty of Russia, who looked good at Russian Nationals, beating Tsargush in the semis.

    Other than that I would see the only wrestler with the potential to beat Jordan as whomever Azerbaijan sends. I would guess that would likely be Ashraf Aliev. The scrappy Aliev gave Jordan a tough match at worlds two years ago. Also keep an eye on Georgia's David Khutishvili.

    Keith Gavin, 84 kilos

    Keith Gavin is going to have his hands full here. There has been no word as to the makeup of the Azerbaijani team at this point, but I see no reason why Sharif Sharifov won't be in the field in September. Sharif, arguably the world's greatest wrestler (the argument would be between him and Burroughs), won the Olympics last year, where he beat Jake Herbert, and the World Championships the year before, where he beat Cael Sanderson.

    This weight will also feature Iran's Ehsan Lashgari, a bronze medalist at the Olympics who outscored Gavin by a considerable amount, on aggregate, when they wrestled two years ago at the World Cup. Gerogia's Dato Marsagashvili and Ukraine's Ibragim Aldatov have also been active this year and each claim world level medals and should be favored over Gavin.

    I have not mentioned Russia's representative, Shamil Kudiyamagomedov, who is untested but beat a very tough Anzor Urishev in the finals of Russian Nationals. Kudiyamagomedov is untested, but he still must be viewed as one of the best in the field. Additionally, factoring in the fact that this weight should have very tough wrestlers from Belarus and Turkey, proves that Gavin has long odds to earn a medal at this weight.

    I'm a huge Keith Gavin fan. I love the way he wrestles, and I sincerely hope he manages to beat the odds.

    J.D. Bergman, 96 kilos

    J.D. Bergman made his second U.S. World team at 96 kilos (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
    This weight was the toughest last year in London, but, much to the benefit of the USA's J.D. Bergman, things have thinned out a bit. We won't be seeing some of this weight's gold medal mainstays like Yazdani, Gogshelidze, and Gatsalov (yes I know he wasn't there in London either). Russia's entry here, Anzor Boltukaev, lacks world-level experience, but has beaten prodigious talent Abdusalam Gadisov twice this year. Bergman has lost to Iran's Hamed Tatari twice this year, but Tatari doesn't show up in the results for Iranian Nationals, so it's anyone's guess as to whether he'll be in the field for Worlds. No matter which wrestler Iran sends, expect him to be a hammer. Last year's Olympic silver medalist Valeri Andriitsev of the Ukraine has been active this year, and has proven his staying power with some decent tournament placings.

    Other than that, I'm having a hard time figuring out the form of the rest of the field. Many top names from the past have not been active, and newer names from top countries have been maddeningly inconsistent. One last wrestler to watch ought to be Azerbaijan's Khetag Gazumov, World champion and Olympic medalist. He competed at the European Championships this year, placing uncharacteristically low at seventh. Gazumov should still be dangerous come September.

    No result would shock me for Bergman at this weight. Were he to go one and out, I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I find it strange if he found himself in the finals. Let's call J.D. The USA's wildcard. He'd probably like that.

    Tervel Dlagnev, 120 kilos

    Tervel Dlagnev has proven himself as one of the world's premier heavyweights, even if he has but a single world bronze medal to show for it. Now with Russia's Makhov and Uzbekistan's Taymazov out of the picture (I'm assuming Taymazov is done), Tervel should be a favorite to medal as he should be favored against every wrestler in the field but one.

    This wrestler is Iran's Komeil Ghasemi, who I thought beat Tervel by luck in the Olympics, but who has gone on to beat Tervel two additional times, looking better with each outing. Gahsemi impresses me. He has a slick inside step, and not just for a big man, for any man. The one thing that Tervel has going for him in this situation is the fact that it is hard to beat someone of his skill level four times in a row.

    Tervel ought to medal at this weight, and could quite possibly win it.

    Go Team USA!
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