Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) called out former 140-lb champion Devin Haney after his 10-round unanimous decision win over Bortizhon ‘The Shark’ Akhmedov (10-4, 9 KOs) last Saturday night at The Venue in Riyadh.
Duarte started to slow, struggling with the skills, angles, and sharp punching of the talented Akhmedov, but came on in the championship rounds to hurt him with left hooks and right hands from the eighth round on.
Duarte’s Power Bails Him Out
This was easily the best fight on the Latino Night card last night, as Duarte and Akhmedov were throwing nonstop power shots with neither guy backing down. Akhmedov’s moniker, ‘The Shark,’ was perfect for him because he attacked Duarte relentlessly, like a ravenous apex predator.
The scores
98-92
96-94
97-93
The shots that Duarte landed against Akhmedov in the fight were heavy, and it’s admirable that he stood up to them for the full ten rounds without crumbling. What sealed the victory for Duarte was him hurting Akhmedov in the eighth. Duarte began sitting on all his shots from the eighth, dominating the final rounds to win.
In hindsight, it’s understandable why Ryan Garcia is still in awe of the power that he was throwing with when they fought on December 2nd, 2023.
That was the fight in which Ryan was using the Philly Shell, trying to block Duarte’s incoming fire, and not doing a good job of it. Duarte quickly solved Ryan’s rudimentary attempts at using this defensive posture and bombed him with nonstop power shots.
His left hook smash saved Ryan from defeat, which he used to stun Duarte in the eighth and then finish him off with a short salvo.
Haney on Duarte’s Radar
“Now that Devin Haney is back, I’d like to fight him because he’s one of the best in my division. But I’m open to fighting anyone—I want to go up against the top fighters out there,” said Duarte after his win over Akhmedov in the post-fight interview.
It’s doubtful that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) will take Duarte up on his challenge because he hits too hard, and Devin is coming off a bad beating against Ryan last April. Going from a grueling fight like that into a match with a heavy hitter like Duarte would be risky for Haney. Moreover, it wouldn’t be a fight that would pay enormously for Haney unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh took an interest in putting this match with Duarte together for a headliner on one of his Riyadh Season events.
Oscar Duarte wants to fight the best and eyes a @Realdevinhaney bout 👀#RiyadhSeason | #LatinoNight | LIVE and FREE on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/NU10l85ny8
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 16, 2024
Read the full article here
