Murodjon Akhmadaliev said he didn’t want to have to be satisfied with fighting for an interim world title, that he wanted a fight with the real champion at 122 pounds, Naoya Inoue. But Akhmadaliev, AKA “MJ,” will indeed have to make do with holding the interim WBA super-bantamweight strap. For, as RingTV.com reports, former WBA/IBF champion “MJ” will face Mexico’s Ricardo Espinoza Franco in Monte Carlo on December 14th, with the interim WBA belt on the line.
Akhmadaliev, 12-1(9) and coming off a December 2023 stoppage win over Kevin Gonzalez, has been calling out “The Monster” for some time, only for Inoue, curiously for such a great, all-conquering fighter, to seemingly ignore him – or “run away” in the opinion of the 29 year old southpaw from Uzbekistan. Inoue, as we know, will defend his belts against IBF mandatory Sam Goodman, this on Christmas Eve, and it remains to be seen who Inoue will fight after that if he’s victorious.
Akhmadaliev, if he wins on Dec 14, will no doubt carry on calling Inoue out. But first comes 27 year old Espinoza Franco. The Mexican warrior is currently 30-4(25), with him having been stopped just once, and the co-challenger is unbeaten in his last six bouts. Like all Mexican fighters, Espinoza Franco is tough and full of heart, but he will be taking the biggest test, the biggest fight of his career when he steps into the ring with Akhmadaliev. Espinoza Franco has been in with good fighters such as John Riel Casimero and Daniel Roman, but he lost both fights.
It would be an upset if the Mexican were to defeat Akhmadaliev. “MJ” says he is happy to be back at work.
“I’m happy to be back at work,” he said. “It looks like that pound-for-pound star [Inoue] is not ready for big challenges. He can continue running away, but I will get what should be mine anyway. MJ is in business again and December will be hot.”
“MJ” better make sure he doesn’t blow it by looking past Espinoza Franco. If he’s fully focused on the task at hand, and isn’t thinking overly about Inoue, Akhmadaliev should be able to pound out a decision win in Monte Carlo.
