Unified Champions Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Stephen Fulton Can Make History
There are so many good fights boxing fans can be excited about when looking at the future of this year. One high-profile fight that fans can hope for is unified super bantamweight champions Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7ko) and Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton (20-0, 8ko) fighting for undisputed.
THE ROAD TRAVELED TOWARDS UNDISPUTED
MJ became a unified champion after narrowly dethroning Daniel Roman back in 2020. In 2021, the Uzbekistan champion easily defeated Jose Velasquez and stopped former champion Ryosuke Iwasa in the fifth round. He is not a household name within the sport of boxing. Truth be told, only true boxing enthusiasts can mention his accolades without looking it up on Google.
In 2021, Cool Boy Steph realized his goal of becoming a unified champion. Fulton won an exciting educated war against WBO champion Angelo Leo. The fans got their money’s worth as both combatants engaged in rugged warfare in the trenches to the bitter end.
Not looking to take a break, Fulton jumped into another all-out war with WBC champion Brandon Figueroa. The fight was very close, and fans were left hungry for more as they gave both fighters a standing ovation. Ultimately, Fulton won by majority decision, but the fight could have gone either way.
During the post-fight, Figueroa argued the decision to which Fulton introduced the idea of a rematch. However, Figueroa quickly declared that he was finished with fighting in the 122-pound division and decided to move up.
FULTON WANTS TO MAKE HISTORY
Fighting for undisputed is the one thing fans crave to see. There is nothing that adds more to a fighter’s resume than being crowned an undisputed champion. It signifies that you, and you alone, sit atop the mountain as king.
Fulton has been envisioning a fight with MJ for undisputed since 2020. He expressed wanting to make the fight to crown the first-ever undisputed super bantamweight champion.
“MJ, so we can see who will be the first undisputed super bantamweight champion of the world in history, ever.”
Stephen Fulton, unified super bantamweight champion
If they fight, the winner joins the ranks of Josh Taylor, Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk, and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as undisputed champions of the four-belt era.
With Akhmadaliev fighting on DAZN and Fulton under the Premier Boxing Champions banner, the boxing community prays that boxing politics doesn’t get in the way of making the fight.
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By: Bakari Simpson
