Tonight in Monte Carlo, Murodjon Akhmadaliev showed zero ring rust in chopping down and taking out a game Ricardo Espinoza to take the vacant interim WBA super-bantamweight belt. The southpaw from Uzbekistan was sharp as a razor tonight, his lefts and rights landing bang on target, with “MJ” dropping the aggressive Mexican three times.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
The final knockdown caused the third man to wave the fight off. Time was 2:59 of the third, and Akhmadaliev is now 13-1(10). Espinoza, who had previously been stopped just once, falls to 30-5(25).
Akhmadaliev took a couple of minutes to get going, as Espinoza jumped right on him, with the former WBA/IBF champ finding his sharpness perfectly by the end of the opening session. Espinoza was game, and the two men landed head shots simultaneously in the second round before Akhmadaliev got home with three left hands upstairs.
In round three, Akhmadaliev, throwing all power shots, was looking for the early night. It came. A big left hand decked Espinoza, and then, after taking more leather, Espinoza crashed again. Showing heart, the Mexican warrior got back up again, and he either refused to change tactics or was unable to do so. Espinoza carried on coming forward, trying to land something big. But Akhmadaliev would not be denied, and after landing a left/right/left to the head, Espinoza, trying again to get home with something of his own, was hit with one final left, and down he went for the third and final time.
It was a sharp and clinical performance from “MJ,” really a faultless showing.
The big talking point afterward was, of course, a fight between Akhmadaliev and Naoya Inoue. “The Monster” was duly called out, with Akhmadaliev saying on air that he would fight Inoue “anywhere.”
“I’m ready,” Akhmadaliev said.
Eddie Hearn went as far as to say he would be everything about Akhmadaliev beating Inoue.
“We’ve already delivered him [Akhmadaliev] the fight [with Inoue]. It’s been called not once but twice,” Hearn said. “The first time they called for an exception, to duck MJ. The second time was cast iron, in writing – he had to fight him. They found a way to avoid it again. Naoya Inoue is a pound-for-pound legend. We respect him. But there’s one thing he hasn’t got, and that Uzbek power. I’m telling you, there is only one fighter in the division that can compete with him, let alone beat him, and that’s MJ. And I tell you now, this man will beat Naoya Inoue. He has all the skills, all the ability, all the pedigree. Maybe Inoue doesn’t duck anyone, but his team do. We’ll fight him in Japan. It’s the only fight in the division. I’ll bet the house on it – this man beats Naoya Inoue!”
The pressure seems to be well and truly on “The Monster” to do the right thing now, and that’s fighting Akhmadaliev.
Hearn, however, said tonight, “I bet you he [Inoue] doesn’t fight him!”
We’ll wait and see.
A message to @naoyainoue_410 👀#AkhmadalievEspinoza pic.twitter.com/SYXm66XY7k
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 14, 2024
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