This article lays out a five step plan for Akhmedov to reach his goal of challenging the elites of the light heavyweight division (apparently, he made specific mention in the Kazakh press that he would like to catch either Ward or Kovalev while they are still around). The author proscribes that he 1. start with another Justin Thomas or two (guys with passing fair records on paper, maybe that can last a few rounds and let him refine some aspects of his game), then start 2. trouncing his peers of similar rank to distinguish himself, then look 3. upward to cannibalize some beatable known quantities with name value and higher rankings than his own (ie Yunieski Gonzalez or Tommy Karpency), thus 4. propelling him into his first big TV date (maybe with a Shabranskyy or Gvozdyk) and then 5. reach the big stage. http://vesti.kz/profi/240673/
Just realized that Akhmedov's height isn't listed on BoxRec for some reason. He stands 1.86 meters (6'1")
That s not Lucas Matthysse lol, anyways I would prefer having Matthysse as avatar than that Gervonta clown
Nice find IB. I'm impressed. He fights with great maturity for a 22 yr old, let's hope he lives up to that potential.
I know, right? Smooth like butter in there, granted without having needed to surmount any major obstacles with having only faced easily beatable styles (for him) and levels of class. I'm hyped. With the customary amount of caution within reason, of course. We've all gotten burned too many times. But yeah, can't remember the last time I was this optimistic for a light heavyweight prospect - maybe going even further back than Bivol. Maybe all the way to when Kovalev first popped up on my radar (long before most casual HBO viewers)...and honestly Akhmedov is nearing the same exact stage of his development that Kovalev was then. He is probably ready for a showcase beatdown of someone the caliber of a Roman Simakov (but obviously hopefully with competent officiating and sans tragic outcome)
Hoping to at least see Akhmedov replicate if not outpace his 2016 productivity of 5 bouts. Plenty of time in the calendar year for him to squeeze in another camp and take on another of the Curtis Hill Jr. or Justin Thomas ilk.
Trevor McCumby or whatever his name is can fight, he looks pretty solid to me. He would be a good opponent for Akhmedov but it will certainly not happen.
Justin Thomas fight in better quality here. It's the whole card but I've timestamped the Akhmedov fight This content is protected
Oh wow, how the hitherto hyped have fallen. You remember Sergey Rabchenko? He's taking a tuneup in a 6-rounder buried deep on an undercard at home (with the Belarusian middleweight & welterweight titles respectively being contested in the headliner and co-main event, with a quartet of combatants I've never heard of), taking on Sergey Krapshyla. That's right, the guy that Akhmedov in his pro debut KO1ed. Yeesh. There were people a few years ago thinking Rabchenko would smash his way through and clean up @ 154lbs, and now look where he is. Not stopping Krapshyla within a coupe of rounds means he's done.
Ali, bro, can you please nip this habit in the bud of ALWAYS having one arm low during heads-up situations??? In the ring, going 70mph on the highway, pretty much any time you need to be alert, KEEP THOSE MITTS AT TEN AND TWO POSITION. Don't wanna see you crash (literally or figuratively), buddy. You zany young daredevil you. This content is protected
The new September edition of the WBC rankings should be out this coming week. (a few position changes have already been leaked from the convention in Bakú) I'm curious to see if he goes much further. Justin Thomas was probably a step up from Curtis Hill Jr., both in the eyes of sanctioning bodies and just by the eye test (and is currently several places higher than Hill on BoxRec), although it hurts Akhmedov's chances of budging that he wasn't defending his WBC Youth title in that fight. It was just an 8-rounder. So, increased level of competition or not, he may end up more or less staying put - although I have a hard time believing he wouldn't climb past #38. Yoann Kongolo just ahead of him at #37 didn't see action in September. I'm sure the win over Thomas is enough to bypass Kongolo, but the next guy after that is Egor Mekhontsev and with his amateur reputation and backing I doubt they'll let Akhmedov leapfrog him without a notable scalp or at least another defense of their bauble.
