On 24th May, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom boxing announced that professional Uzbek boxer Murodjon Akhmadaliev (9-0-0) would put his world title belts on the line against Ronny Rios (33-3-0) of the US. Hailing from Chust and fighting out of California, Akhmadaliev’s rise to prominence has made him one of the most intriguing boxers in the world, and he's already a unified world champion in the super bantamweight division. Despite only being in the professional ranks for a total of nine fights to date, Ring Magazine places him atop their rankings, ahead of Daniel Roman (27-2-1), title-holders Stephen Fulton (19-0-0) and Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1), and ninth-place Rios. While the Uzbek is flying high and boasts a strong history in the amateur ranks, his bout against Rios is still a hefty challenge – one which BoxRec places as a four-star bout in its quality. Taking one step closer to an undisputed boutAkhmadaliev’s ascendency has been nothing short of meteoric. After seven fights to get him used to the rigours of the professional ranks, the Uzbek dived straight into the deep end, taking on the WBA and IBF World unified champion Roman as a mandatory challenger. Winning by split decision, he next defended his belts at the Humo Arena in Tashkent against Japanese southpaw Ryosuke Iwasa (27-3-0) for five rounds on 3rd April this year. The fight may have been stopped early, but Boxing Junkie rightly notes that Akhmadaliev dominated throughout. Now, having demonstrated his skills on home turf, the unified super bantamweight world champion is returning to the US, fighting at the SNHU Arena in New Hampshire on 19th November. Once again, the subscription boxing service DAZN will show the bout. Even without home backing, though, the Uzbek is greatly favoured in this one, with many seeing it as a placeholder before he can challenge to become undisputed. As of 8th November, Betway has Akhmadaliev as the 9/50 favourite to beat the 7/2 Rios on the night. Given the pedigree of the Uzbek title-holder, the fact that he’s 27-years-old and an Olympic Bronze medallist, and that Rios has historically struggled when asked to step up, it’s easy to see why Akhmadaliev is so heavily favoured by the oddsmakers. Is there a chance for an upset in the world title fight?Fighting out of the TKO Boxing Club in Santa Ana, California, it’d be fair to say that Rios has predominantly struggled when faced with the world title-contending class. For the WBC World title on 26th August 2017, he lost by unanimous decision to Rey Vargas (29-0-0). A little over one year later, he was knocked out by Azat Hovhannisyan (13-2-0) when battling for the WBC Continental Americas crown – the Armenian would next face Vargas and lose by unanimous decision. Having since captured, defended, and dropped one of the WBA’s meaningless World straps, he now finds himself as the Association’s mandatory challenger. Still, Rios has the underdog’s mentality and a fighter’s spirit, making him a dangerous foe. His record shows that wealth of experience that he has over Akhmadaliev in the professional ranks, and losing to Vargas certainly can’t be held against him. Talking to Boxing Scene, Rios said: “I go into every fight with nothing to lose and everything to gain.” The one-time world title challenger could come out swinging and rock the Uzbek early, but the likelihood of that working against the crisp-punching, swift-moving MJ seems to be slim. The bigger picture of the super bantamweight sceneOn 23rd August 2018, after besting Roman Conteras (15-7-6), Akhmadaliev returned to a hero’s welcome in Tashkent. Last time out, 3rd April 2021, he was already at home to be cheered on as a local sporting icon in the making. Now, a win against Rios could have him on the fast path to the history books. Prior to besting Iwasa in Uzbekistan, he stated: “I will not avoid anybody, I want all the belts.” He has to fight Rios as his mandatory, but after that, all eyes turn to another super bantamweight bout with the other two world titles on the line.
On 27th November, in Las Vegas, the WBC and WBO straps are on the line, contested by Figueroa and Fulton on Showtime. Either of the two undefeated Americans could turn to demand a rematch in the immediate aftermath, but the recent history of the division would suggest that the battle to become the undisputed world champion would take precedence. As he detailed to Boxing Social on 20th May, Fulton doesn’t think that Figueroa will prove a problem, but the oddsmakers don’t favour Fulton (2/7) as strongly as they do Akhmadaliev. It’s an exciting time for the super bantamweight division, particularly if you’re backing Akhmadaliev, and 2022 might just see an Uzbek and an American meet to decide the undisputed world champion.
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