By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten IBF and WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev will be defending his crowns in his homeland of Uzbekistan this Saturday, April 3rd when he takes on fellow southpaw and former IBF champ Ryosuke Iwasa of Japan. The 12-round bout can be seen in most nations on DAZN with the card getting underway at 10 am ET. Akhmadaliev beat Danny Roman by split decision in January, 2020 to win the belts. Iwasa last fought in December, 2019 when he stopped Marlon Tapales in the 11th round for the IBF interim belt.
The 26-year-old Akhmadaliev is a perfect 8-0 with 6 Kos and obviously has a lot of power in his fists and carries around a current knockout ratio of 75 per cent. He made his pro debut in 2018 and has just 40 rounds of experience under his belt. However, he enjoyed a successful amateur career as he won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a silver at the 2015 World Amateur Championships in Doha, Qatar where he was beaten in the final by Ireland’s Michael Conlan.
Akhmadaliev apparently went 300-20 as an amateur with 80 Kos. He also won silver at the 2012 World Youth Championships and was the Uzbekistan National Champion in 2013 and 2014. He was the silver medallist at the 2015 Asian Championships and won gold at the same event two years later. He gained experience by boxing for the Uzbek Tigers in the 2016 and 2017 World Series of Boxing (WSB). Akhmadaliev stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 68-inch reach.
Since turning pro, Akhmadaliev has brought his power along for the ride. He stopped Isaac Zarate in the ninth round for the WBA Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight Title in November, 2018 in his first defence after halting Ramon Contreras in just 80 seconds three months earlier to win the vacant crown. He won his world titles in just his eighth pro bout and doesn’t have much experience in the pro ranks against the upper echelon just yet but his win over Roman was impressive and he has a wealth of amateur experience to fall back on.
The 31-year-old Iwasa climbs through the ropes with a mark of 27-3 with 17 Kos and has boxed 191 rounds since making his pro debut in 2008. His first defeat came at the hands of Shinsuke Yamanaka by way of 10th-round stoppage in 2011 in a shot at the Japanese Bantamweight title. However, he won the vacant title later in the year via a 10-round unanimous decision over Jerope Mercado and then defended it twice.
Iwasa won the OPBF Bantamweight crown in 2013 when he stopped Hiroki Shiino in the fifth round and defended it once. His second loss was to Lee Haskins by sixth-round TKO in 2015 for the IBF interim Bantamweight Title. Iwasa won the IBF Super Bantamweight Title in 2017 when he stopped Yukinori Oguni in the sixth round. After defending it against Ernesto Saulong by unanimous decision he lost the belt to TJ Doheny by unanimous decision in 2018. Since then he’s beaten Cesar Juarez by 10-round technical decision and then Tapales in his last outing.
The former champ stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with a wingspan of of 71.5 inches which gives him a two-inch height advantage over Akhmadaliev and a 3.5-inch edge in reach. He’s 2-1 with 1 KO in world title fights but is 2-3 with 2 Kos against current or former world champions. Iwasa has decent power at 56.7 per cent but has been stopped twice so his chin may be a question mark.
Prediction…
Akhmadaliev will be fighting as a pro in his homeland for the first time as he now resides in Indio, California while Iwasa is 2-1 outside of Japan with a KO and has been stopped once. Akhmadaliev is a good boxer with power and deserved hs win over Roman. He obviously doesn’t have as much experience as Iwasa but being at home and defending his title for the first time I’m expecting him to retain the belts in what could be a pretty wild ride on Saturday.
