Murodjon Akhmadaliev edges Daniel Roman in thriller!
Unified Super Bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (27-2, 10KOs) and hard-hitting mandatory challenger and former 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Murodjon Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6KOs) kicked things off on the Demetrius Andrade vs Luke Keeler main event in Miami.
The opening stanza was purely a feel out round for both men.
Akhmadaliev the younger more athletic fighter started to find his rhythm over the course of the next two rounds. Utilizing constant movement, he would fire off quick and powerful combinations that connected primarily to the head of the champion.
However, in rounds four and five there would be a subtle shift in momentum as the champion started opening up to the body of the challenger. Thudding shots would appear to get Roman back into the fight and appear to slow down the challenger.
Round seven was by far the most entertaining round up to this point in the fight. Both men would meet early in the round in the middle of the ring trading hard shots. As the round went on, the action continued as both men took their attack upstairs, with the challenger appearing to get the better of those exchanges.
Round ten was all Akhmadaliev as he consistently beat Roman to the punch, with flurries to the body appearing to cap off a successful round.
Round twelve was all Roman as he applied major pressure! He fought that round like he failed to do for majority of the rounds. He ripped some nasty uppercuts and left hooks on the challenger. Both guys finished the fight strong with good two way action!
In the end it would be Murodjon Akhmadaliev declared as the winner by way of a split decision! The scorecards read 115-113 for Roman and 115-113×2 for Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
3kingsboxing.com did score the fight 115-113 for Roman, although, this fight was close enough to have gone either way.
In just his eighth professional bout, Akhmadaliev is a unified champion! He will look towards a possible bout with undefeated WBA regular champion Brandon Figueroa or the longest reigning champion in the division, the WBC’s Rey Vargas for an opportunity to unify three of the four belts!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
