Red-hot boxer-puncher Murodjon Akhmadaliev makes the fourth defence of his IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles against Marlon Tapalas at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, this Saturday. The 12-round bout will be broadcast exclusively by DAZN.
Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8 KOs) is an Olympic bronze medallist with over 300 amateur fights to his credit. With that type of foundation in the unpaid ranks, it was inevitable that the 28-year-old Uzbekistani could be fast-tracked to professional glory and he didn’t disappoint.
On January 30, 2020, in just his eighth professional fight, 'MJ' outpointed Daniel Roman to claim the world titles he still holds. Since that time, Akhmadaliev has defended successfully against Ryosuke Iwasa (TKO 5), Jose Velasquez (UD 12), and Ronny Rios (TKO 12).
WATCH: Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Marlon Tapalas, live on DAZN
The Rios triumph gave Akhmadaliev excellent momentum — however, the champion broke his left hand during the bout, which has kept him out of the ring for the past 10 months. Never one to sit still, Akhmadaliev continued to work diligently on his footwork and stayed sharp until he could resume punching.
Now fully fit, the unified titleholder expects a very tough challenge from the rampaging Filipino Tapalas (36-3, 19 KOs), who is a former WBO bantamweight titleholder.
“I rate him very highly,” Akhmadaliev told The Sporting News. “He’s [rated No. 6] with Ring Magazine and he’s the [IBF’s] No.1 contender for a reason. I look at him as a world champion because he’s a former champion in the lower weight class.
“He’s very strong, athletic, and he has a very similar style to mine. He comes to fight, he’s a power-puncher, so I’m taking him very seriously. He’s very experienced — more experienced than I am [as a pro], but I’m coming with only one intention: to win this fight.”
This is an all-southpaw collision, which is quite rare. However, given Akhmadaliev’s extensive amateur background, it stands to reason that he’s seen everything there is to see.
“Southpaws give you a little bit more adversity because there’s not as many southpaws as righties, but I’ve boxed many southpaws,” offered Akhmadaliev. “I beat Ryosuke Iwasa (TKO 5) two years ago and he’s a southpaw. Before that, it was Isaac Zarate (TKO 9), so I’ve boxed a couple of southpaws in the pros.
“It’s always up to me. How can I adapt? How will I allow my opponent to box? I question myself, not so much my opponent. He’ll bring his A-game, but I will adjust to whatever he brings. We worked against southpaws in training camp and the different things [Tapalas] can do in the ring. We’re ready.”
The super bantamweight division is in a terrific spot right now. On July 25, Stephen Fulton, the unified WBC and WBO champ, will defend his titles against former undisputed bantamweight king and pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue in Tokyo.
“This should be a great fight between two world champions,” acknowledged Akhmadaliev. “Inoue is an all-around great; he’s a big puncher, technically sound; and Fulton is a great boxer.
“I cannot really predict [a winner]. I don’t like predicting fights. With them, I haven’t watched much. I’ve seen two fights with Fulton and a couple of fights of Inoue, so I don’t know too much about them. I think it will be a high performance from both guys, and I wish them the best of luck in their training camps. I’ll be looking for the winner of that fight.”
When @AkhmadalievMj became the first boxer from Uzbekistan to win a world title 🇺🇿
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 5, 2023
MJ is back for #RodriguezGonzalez 👑pic.twitter.com/NGri0YdRmh
Even rarer than southpaw vs. southpaw matchups are undisputed title fights. However, it doesn’t get any rarer than an undisputed title fight at 122 pounds. Despite all the great champions who have thrown down in this weight class – Wilfredo Gomez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Manny Pacquiao among them – there’s one goal that no super bantamweight has ever achieved.
“There has never been an undisputed champion in the super bantamweight division,” said Akhmadaliev, who is correct. “There has never been another undisputed champion from Uzbekistan. I’m the [quickest] ever [male] unified world champion, and I potentially can become the [quickest male] undisputed champion in the history of boxing. This means everything to me.
“One hundred percent, if everything goes well [against Tapalas], then my goal is to face [the winner of Fulton-Inoue]. I want to be the best in my weight class, and the winner of this fight is definitely my next dance partner. I want to become undisputed.”
WATCH: Bam Rodriguez vs. Cristian Hernandez, live on DAZN
Incredibly, despite the quality of the Akhmadaliev vs. Tapalas bout, it is not the main event on Saturday. Top billing is held by local hero and former super flyweight champ Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, who faces Cristian Hernandez for the vacant WBO flyweight title.
However, regardless of where Akhmadaliev and Tapalas feature on the card, this style confrontation is sure to create fireworks. Fight of the night is well within reach and we could potentially be looking at a fight of the year contender.
“Usually fights of the year are very difficult fights, so I would prefer to have an A+ performance than a fight of the year candidate,” Akhmadaliev admitted with a smile. “That would be much better than to have to struggle and go to war. I would prefer to show a masterclass, show my skills, and dominate.”