Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) destroyed Ricardo Espinoza (30-5, 25 KOs) in a third-round knockout to win the WBA interim super bantamweight title on Saturday night at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Espinoza was knocked down three times in round 3. After the third knockdown, a beautiful right-left from Akhmadaliev, the referee then halted the contest. The time of the stoppage was at 2:59 of the third.
“I’m ready; let’s go, Naoya. Why is he ducking me? The best should fight the best. I’m the mandatory,” said Akhmadaliev about Naoya Inoue. “Let’s go, Inoue. Where is my belt? Come on.”
“This man will be at Inoue,” said Eddie Hearn about Akhmadaliev. “Twice, he’s been called to fight him. Let the best fight the best. I’ll bet the house on it, this young man beat Inoue. I bet they avoid him. Uzbek power.
Undercard Results
– Leonardo Mosquea (16-0, 9 KOs) out-slugged previously unbeaten 2020 Olympian Cheavon Clarke (10-1, 7 KOs), beating him by a 12-round split decision to capture the vacant EBU cruiserweight title.
Mosquea, 30, dropped Clarke in round one with a left Hook to the head. From rounds two through twelve, Clarke was on his bike, moving constantly, trying to keep out of the way of the heavy punches from the explosive Mosquea. If Clarke had won, it would have been a crime.
The scores
– 117-113 – Clarke
– 116-112 – Mosquea
– 115-112 – Mosquea
Boxing News 24 had it 9-3 in favor of Mosquea. Clarke was moving too much, not showing much power, and unwilling to stand in the pocket to win. He was in survival mode after getting clipped by Mosquea and deserved to lose by a wider score than the ones the judges turned in. I had Clarke winning rounds 5, 7, and 12.
Mosquea landed the harder shots in those rounds, but Clarke was a little more aggressive. Other than those three, it was one-sided in favor of the moar aggressive and explosive Mosquea.
– IBF World female lightweight champion Beatriz Ferreira (6-0, 2 KOs) dominated Licia Boudersa (23-3-2, 4 KOs), winning a 10-round unanimous decision in a one-sided contest. The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90.
The 2020 Brazilian Olympian Ferreira hurt Boudersa with a left to the body in the eighth round and continued to nail her at will with combinations. Boudersa’s trainer had his towel in hand, ready to have the fight stopped in round nine, but chose not to.
Boudersa, 32, never quit despite soaking up a lot of punishment during the fight. She was still landing occasional shots but didn’t have the power to bother Ferreira. It would have been a more interesting fight if Boudersa had power because she was connecting. As dominant as Ferreira was, she wasn’t hard to hit.
– Lightweight contender Maxi Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) made it look easy, beating an overmatched Gary Cully (18-2, 10 KOs) by a wide ten-round unanimous decision. Hughes battered the 6’2″ stork-like Cully, hammering him with combinations in the sixth and seventh rounds.
The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90. Cully, 28, suffered a bad cut over his right eye in the sixth round, but the fight was surprisingly allowed to continue. It was target practice for Hughes, who repeatedly nailed Cully with shots and moved away before he could land.
– Heavyweight prospect Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs) destroyed Volody Katsuk (5-2, 2 KOs), scoring a first-round knockout in a scheduled six-round fight. The 2024 Olympian Teremoana blitzed the 36-year-old Katsuk, unloading on him with heavy shots, resulting in the referee Jean Robert Laine stepping in to stop the fight.
The time of the stoppage was at 2:04 of round one. The victory was the third first-round knockout of the 26-year-old Teremoana’s four-year professional career. It was a signal that his promoters at Matchroom Boxing needed to begin matching him against better opposition.
Teremoana was outboxed by Ukbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, losing to him by a three-round decision in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Teremoana looked basic in that loss, just charging forward like a bull and getting nailed by the tall, better-skilled 6’6″ Jalolov. From what we saw tonight, Teremoana hasn’t improved since his loss. He’s basic.
Road To Inoue
The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) is trying to get a title shot against undisputed 122-lb champion Naoya Inoue, who has shown zero interest in fighting him, options for easier targets.
If Akmadaliev, 30, is victorious tonight, he’ll hold the WBA interim belt and could force the reluctant ‘Monster’ Inoue to fight him or vacate his World Boxing Association title.
Also on tonight’s card, cruiserweight Chearon Clarke (10-0, 7 KOs) faces Leonardo Mosquea (15-0, 9 KOs) for the vacant EBU belt in a 12-round contest in the co-feature.
DAZN Main Card 1:30 pm ET)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Ricardo Espinoza
- Cheavon Clarke vs. Leonardo Mosquea
- Beatriz Ferreira vs. Licia Boudersa
- Gary Cully vs. Maxi Hughes
- Teremoana Junior vs. Volodymyr Katsuk
Former IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev fights tonight against Ricardo Espinoza (30-4, 25 KOs_ in the 12-round headliner, live on DAZN from the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo. The event starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. The two fighters will Battle for the WBA interim belt.
