Murodjon Akhmadaliev to Make Second Mandatory Defense Against Ronny Rios!
Matchroom Boxing has announced they have won the purse bid for the fight between unified super bantamweight challenger Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (9-0, 7 KOs) and WBA mandatory Ronny Rios (33-3, 16 KOs). On May 13, the WBA called for a purse bid. The camps of the two fighters failed to agree to a deal by a mandated May 6 date.
It is the second straight mandatory defense for the unified champ. In his previous bout, Akhmadaliev scored a fifth round TKO over IBF mandatory challenger and former IBF Super Bantamweight champion, Ryosuke Iwasa.
Rios earned the WBA mandatory position when he scored a sixth round stoppage over Diego De La Hoya in July of 2019. The win granted him the WBA Gold title.
Akhmadaliev is represented by Russian promotional company World of Boxing. However, there is a working relationship between them and Matchroom Boxing CEO Eddie Hearn. MJ’s last four bouts have taken place on events promoted by Matchroom.
While Hearn announced that his company earned the purse bid, he did not disclose any further details. Hearn promised those details are coming soon. Expect the fight to be aired on DAZN sometime this summer at a locale TBD. Stay tuned to 3KingsBoxing for further updates.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
