Former unified junior featherweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev is back in the win column.
Akhmadaliev (15-2, 12 KOs) stopped Hegly Mosqueda (27-2, 20 KOs) in the fourth round Friday to headline a Raizd Boxing show in his native land of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The fight-ending sequence arrived after Akhmadaliev floored the Venezuelan with a series of unanswered punches, which prompted the referee to immediately wave off the fight with under a minute remaining in the round. The bout marked Akhmadaliev's first ring walk since a unanimous decision defeat to undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue in September in Japan. Akhmadaliev won the WBA and IBF 122-pound titles with a split decision win against Daniel Roman in January 2020 in just his eighth pro fight. He defended the titles three times before losing a split decision against Marlon Tapales in April 2023. The 31-year-old southpaw scored three more wins to set himself up for title contention before meeting his match in Inoue. Akhmadaliev, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is ranked No. 1 by The Ring at 122. Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram : @ManoukAkopyan
