Khabib Allakhverdiev
Courtesy of Toprank.com
Over the past few years the Light Welterweight division has been on of boxing's most exciting divisions with amazing talent, memorable fights and generally the best taking on the best. The division has seen very little “ducking” as it seems every fighter there is looking to make a real name for themselves.
One fighter who has really started to create a buzz in recent bouts is the current WBA champion Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-0, 9), a man known as “The Hawk”.
Born in Russia in 1982, Allakhverdiev had, like many others from Russia, a stand out amateur career. In total it's reported that he had around 220 fights (though other reports to suggest that he had just shy of 200) in the unpaid ranks and won around 90% of them.
Of course it's not just about the number of fights one has in the amateurs but also their achievements. Allakhverdiev didn't just fight a lot but claimed a huge number of titles and medals including several Russian domestic titles and various low level international tournament titles, though his outstanding achievements were certainly a bronze in the 2005 World Amateur championship and a Gold at the 2003 World Military Games.
One fighter who has really started to create a buzz in recent bouts is the current WBA champion Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-0, 9), a man known as “The Hawk”.
Born in Russia in 1982, Allakhverdiev had, like many others from Russia, a stand out amateur career. In total it's reported that he had around 220 fights (though other reports to suggest that he had just shy of 200) in the unpaid ranks and won around 90% of them.
Of course it's not just about the number of fights one has in the amateurs but also their achievements. Allakhverdiev didn't just fight a lot but claimed a huge number of titles and medals including several Russian domestic titles and various low level international tournament titles, though his outstanding achievements were certainly a bronze in the 2005 World Amateur championship and a Gold at the 2003 World Military Games.
Having had an excellent amateur career Allakhverdiev turned professional and made his pro debut in March 2007 defeating Miguel Ortiz inside a round at the world famous Madison Square Garden.
It was in the US that Allakhverdiev tried to make his name originally and under the guidance of Warriors Boxing Promotions he would fight his first 5 contests in the US. Although Allakhverdiev would remain unbeaten (5-0) he was becoming less and less impressive with a split decision over Josean Escalera effectively ending his US run. His problem, like many former amateurs was that he wasn't yet adapting to the pro-game properly and wasn't sitting on his punches properly as a result he had stopped only 2 of his first 5 opponents. Having failed to really impress Allakhverdiev would return to Russia for his next 3 contests as he maintained his unbeaten record and stepped up a level defeating Maliki Kinyogoli in a 6 round decision. As Allakhverdiev gained the valuable experience as a professional he also started to develop a more professional style. This would see him stopping all 3 of the opponents he fought in 2009 as he began sharing his time between the US and his native Russia. As he continued to adapt to the pro-ranks he moved up and up and in just his 12th contest he defeated Karen Tevosyan for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Welterweight title, the first title of his career. Following the victory over Tevosyan it seemed that Allakhverdiev was on the verge of climbing through the ranks to a world title fight. Sadly that process took much longer than some would imagine and his subsequent 2 bouts were both very low profile as he continued to try and develop into a professional fighter. It wasn't until 16 months after the victory over Tevosyan that Allakhverdiev would face another recognisable name in the form of former world champion Nate Campbell. Although aged 39 at the time Campbell was still a big step up for the Russian and his first bout against a genuine “international” name. Unfortunately for the fans in attendance the Campbell bout was cut short after 6 rounds due to a nasty cut suffered by the America. With the headclash causing the cut the bout was taken to the scorecards which had Allakhverdiev as the clear winner as he claimed his first notable scalp. Thankfully it didn't take long for the Russian to build on the victory over Campbell as he stopped both Ignacio Mendoza and Kaizer Mabuza in his two following fights. By now the amateur habits Allakhverdiev had in his system were almost all gone, he still had genuine talent but he was also willing to sit on punches and make them count rather than trying to get in and out with slapping shots. With the victories over Campbell, Mendoza and Mabuza, Allakhverdiev had established himself as a genuine threat to the Light Welterweight titles. The Russian would get his first world title fight in late 2012, returning to the US for the first time in almost 2 years to face former multi-weight world champion Joan Guzman. Like Allakhverdiev, Guzman was an unbeaten fighter sporting an outstanding record of 33-0-1-1 (20) though at 36 years old and several divisions north of where he had made his name he was viewed as being up against it by those who had followed Allakhverdiev's rise. Although Guzman was a slight betting favourite it was obvious from the opening round that Allakhverdiev hadn't gotten in the ring to just make up the numbers. He managed to knockdown Guzman in the opening round, though the referee ruled it as a slip, then again in round 3, this time correctly called by the referee. As the fight continued Allakhverdiev's power repeatedly hurt Guzman who was downed again in round 8, though according to the referee this again wasn't a legitimate knockdown. Regardless of the referees call the Dominican was unable to continue due to a leg injury forcing the bout to the scorecards which all read 76-75 to give Allakhverdiev a split decision victory and the WBA title. Having won the title in 2012 Allahkverdiev has defended it just once stopping former champion Souleymane M'baye in the 11th round in Monaco. Now associated with Bob Arum and “Top Rank Promotions” the future looks bright for the talented Russian who could well find himself in the mix with the likes of Brandon Rios, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Alvarado and Ruslan Provodnikov in the near future. The video below shows Allakhverdiev's full fight with Ignacio Mendoza and is thanks to Fonsito17 the ending of the fight shows why he has taken “The Hawk” moniker as he unloads a flat out assault without a worry about what is coming back his way. |
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