Murodjon
Akhmadaliev

Uzbekistan boxing is on the rise, and unified World Super-Bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev is the leader of the pack.

Akhmadaliev became the first unified champ from his homeland by ripping the belts from Daniel Roman in a highly-skilled 12 round battle in Miami in January 2020, equaling Leon Spinks’ record of becoming a unified ruler in just eight pro fights.

‘MJ’s’ success in the paid ranks is no surprise after he turned pro in March 2018 having won Olympic bronze 2016, World championship silver in 2015 and Asian Games gold in 2017 and silver in 2015.

Akhmadaliev defended his Unified World Titles on three occasions, securing two stoppage victories in that sequence, before conceding the belts to Marlon Tapales in a split decision defeat in April 2023.

MJ bounced back with a stoppage win over Kevin Gonzalez at the end of the year and is now the mandatory challenger for his old WBA World Super Bantamweight Title. As Naoya Inoue continues to duck Akhmadaliev, MJ instead destroyed Ricardo Espinoza in December to pick up the Interim World Title.