Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) looked outstanding, stopping Ricardo Espinoza (30-5, 25 KOs) in the third round to win the interim WBC super bantamweight title on Saturday night at the Salle des Étoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Espinoza was down three times in round three. The referee stepped and stopped the contest after the final knockdown. The time was at 2:59 of the third. After the fight, Akhmadaliev and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, both called out undisputed 122-lb champion Naoya Inoue.
Undercard results
Leonardo Mosquea (16-0, 9 KOs) looked explosive, beating Cheavon Clarke (10-1, 7 KOs) by a 12-round split decision to win the vacant EBU cruiserweight title. Mosquea knocked Clarke down in round one with two left hooks to the head and controlled the remaining 11 rounds of the fight with pressure.
Clarke had his track shoes on and was running the entire fight. He wanted no part of Mosquea after the first round. The judge’s scores were 117-113 for Clarke, 116-112, and 115-113 for Mosquea.
IBF World lightweight champion Beatriz Ferreira (6-0, 2 KOs) defeated Licia Boudersa (23-3-2, 4 KOs) by a 10-round unanimous decision. The 2020 Olympian Ferreira fought beautifully, hitting Boudersa, 32, with hard shots and coming upstairs with uppercuts to the head.
Boudersa showed great toughness, absorbing a lot of punishment that would have caused many fighters to give up. In the eighth, Ferreira landed a left to the midsection of Boudersa, causing her to bend forward, indicating that she’d been hurt.
However, she kept fighting and made it out of the round. In the ninth, Boudersa’s trainer looked like he was close to throwing in the towel due to the beating she’d taken from Ferreira during the round.
The judge’s scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90.
Lightweight Maxi Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) completely dominated Gary Cully (18-2, 10 KOs), cutting him up in winning a one-sided ten-round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90.
Cully was competitive early, using his size and body punching to land on the fleet of foot Hughes. The fight became a rout in the sixth round, with Hughes catching Cully with a big right hand and then unloading on him with repeated barrages.
Cully was cut over his right eye, with blood pouring out in rivers. Interestingly, the referee didn’t stop the action at any point in the final four rounds to have the cut examined by the ringside doctor. Hughes took advantage of the one-eyed Cully, hitting him with combinations and escaping without getting hit.
2024 Heavyweight Olympian Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs) stopped Volody Katsuk (5-2, 2 KOs) by a first-round knockout. The big 6’6″ Teremoana bum-rushed Katsuk, landing heavy, sledgehammer blows to get the knockout. The referee stopped the fight at 2:04 of round one.
