Murodjon Akhmadaliev: 'My goal is to prove that I'm the best'
Murodjon Akhmadaliev will defend his super bantamweight titles against mandatory challenger Marlon Tapales.
In the Coachella Valley in Indio, CA, one of boxing's most underrated pugilists plies away at his trade in the desert sun. Under the tutelage of the Diaz brothers, Antonio and Joel, Uzbekistan's Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8 KOs) has made his imprint felt through his five years as a professional.
In just 11 professional fights, Akhmadaliev has already become a unified world champion and has made three successful defenses of his titles. This weekend, he will make his fourth defense of his WBA and IBF super bantamweight (122) titles against mandatory challenger and former bantamweight titleholder Marlon Tapales (36-3, 19 KOs) at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, TX.
Tapales is currently rated as the sixth-best super bantamweight by Ring Magazine. He has won all of his previous 10 victories by stoppage going back to 2015. With only one defeat on his resume since 2013, Tapales should prove to be a competitive opponent and isn't one that Akhmadaliev is looking past or underestimating.
"Marlon Tapales is a tough opponent," Akhmadaliev said in an exclusive interview with FansidedMMA. "I'm looking at him as one of the best in our weight. He's ranked No. 3 or something, so he's mandatory for a reason, and we have a similar style. He's a big puncher. He comes forward. He comes to fight. So I'm taking every fight very seriously, and no changes here.
"We are preparing for the toughest fight, and whatever it is, the ring is going to show who's the better fighter, who's the more skilled fighter. I'm coming to the ring only with one intention, to win. And at the end of the night that my hand will be raised; that's my goal."
Akhmadaliev, 28, is one of the most accomplished amateur fighters to have turned professional over the last decade. With over 300 amateur bouts and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, the transition to fighting as a professional could have been difficult. However, thus far, the adjustment has gone smoothly due to Akhmadaliev's style of fighting as an amateur resembling more of a pro-style.
"Going back to an amateur, sometimes I did not perform the way I should just because I was always a little more of a pro-style fighter," Akhmadaliev said. "Even though I became a youth world champion and Olympic medalist, and won multiple Asian championships and stuff like that, I was always more a pro-style boxer. I had about 100 stoppages as an amateur. I was always trying to hurt guys. When I got into the pros, it wasn't that much difficult for me."
Along with his vast amateur experience, Akhmadaliev trains alongside a deep stable of fighters. The group of fighters includes longtime friends from his native Uzbekistan, such as Israil Madrimov, Bakhodir Jalolov, Bektemir Melikuzaev, and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakhram Giyasov.
The level of competition Akhmadaliev encounters in training camps has allowed him to improve continually in each fight. Since winning the IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles from Daniel Roman in January 2020, in each performance from the Olympic bronze medalist, he has shown more dimensions.
In his previous match with contender Ronny Rios, Akhmadaliev fractured his left hand in the second round putting him in danger of losing his titles while facing a level of adversity he hasn't faced as of yet as a professional. Akhmadaliev responded by dominating mainly with one hand and fighting with a tenacity to force a 12th-round stoppage against an opponent who seemed relegated to surviving.
"As far as being in Indio with all my friends, my brothers, it only benefits me," said Akhmadaliev. "We've been together since we were like kids, 10 years old, and Indio is the place that we chose out of many places because of the coaches, Joel and Antonio Diaz, two different coaches.
"There's a different mind game. So I'm learning every single training session, every single sparring, and every fight. I'm not the same fighter I was in my debut. I'm not the same fighter when I fought Daniel Roman. With every single fight I am getting better, and much more confident. It all gives me a lot to learn and the process is learning on the job. I still feel like I have a lot of room to improve."
While Akhmadaliev is considered one of the two best fighters in his division, over the last few months, more attention has been paid to his fellow unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton. Fulton will be facing pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue this summer in Japan.
Undoubtedly, Fulton-Inoue is a stellar match-up with historical significance, specifically if Inoue were to walk away with a victory. For Akhmadaliev, the match holds little weight in his mind as he is more focused on the task in front of him. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't believe he is the best fighter at super bantamweight and can beat anyone who steps in the ring with him.
"Of course, as a champion, as a boxer, my goal is to be undisputed," Akhmadaliev said. "My goal is to prove that I'm the best. To prove that I can beat anyone inside the ring. I don't like to trash talk. I like to bring people's attention with my boxing, not with my talking. So as far as boxing, I'm confident that I can compete against anyone. My team is like a chain and if one of the links is not there, I'm not there. I'm very confident in my team."
Unified WBA and IBF super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev wants to prove he is the best fighter in his division
Throughout boxing history, there is a myriad of examples of world champions who have been neglected in relation to competitors in their same weight class. In the 1990s, Felix Trinidad was the longest reigning welterweight champion winning his title in 1993.
However, it wasn't until 1999 that he was able to face another titleholder in the division. The 2000s saw Juan Manuel Marquez unify titles at featherweight, yet he played second-fiddle to his countrymen Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera in getting opportunities for significant fights.
More recently, Juan Francisco Estrada didn't receive the recognition deserved by the general public until he faced his rival Roman Gonzalez in rematches in 2021 and 2022.
It wasn't until these fighters were given the opportunity to take on more prominent names did they prove their worth. The same may happen for Akhmadaliev should he meet the winner of Fulton-Inoue, but regardless of who stands across the ring from him, the unified champion has only one goal in mind.
"Of course, as a champion, as a boxer, my goal is to be undisputed," Akhmadaliev said. "My goal is to get, to prove that I'm the best. To prove that I can beat anyone inside the ring. I don't like to trash talk. I like to bring people's attention with my boxing, not with my talking. So as far as boxing, I'm confident that I can compete against anyone."
At some point in the careers of the most elite fighters, how you win becomes just as important as winning itself. Akhmadaliev has been matched as tough as can be thus far, and Tapales is no different. How he performs here can be another step to continue his path to reach his goal of undisputed.
"I'll be honest, in every single fight, I'm trying to do my best to perform," Akhmadaliev said. "We have a saying 'that you only fight as good as your opponent allows you to' and it goes both ways. So Tapales will only be able to do whatever I allow him to.
"And so I'll do my best to outclass him in every single department and to do it in the right way. Whatever's going to happen, only God knows, but I'll definitely do my best for it."
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