Ali Bagodinoviç Akhmedov - remember the name.

Write-up on Suljos Blog (which is basically all but the private newsletter of the Mexican headquartered WBC), translated from Spanish:


The Kazakh Ali Akhmedov (8-0-0, 6 KO'S) defeated American Curtis Hill Jr. (10-1-0, 5 KO'S) in which it was an entertaining fight.

The fight started with both fighters looking to finish the actions as soon as possible. As the fight developed, one could observe the Kazakh fighter using more resources to punish his rival.

The outcome came in the fourth episode, when Ali managed to effectively connect Hill Jr., forcing the referí to stop the actions.

At the end of the match Akhmedov commented: "I dedicate this victory to my people, to my beautiful country Kazakhstan. I want to express my gratitude to all those who support and enjoy this great triumph. I especially thank my coach Sagatbek Mussakhanov for his confidence and for all the work he has done. There are big goals ahead, big fights and of course much work to become an absolute world champion."


I'm kind of worried to discover that his coach (Sagatbek Mussakhanov) is also currently a trainer of pros in MMA. I'm not sure what his primary discipline is (was he originally a boxing guy that jumped on the bandwagon, as MMA has started blowing up in Kazakhstan, or is it vice versa, was his background in another combat sport where he only imparts the bare minimum of - and custom-tailored style of - boxing skill needed to be cross-trained in the cage?) but I do know that Akhmedov has a unique in-ring style of his own that doesn't really seem to reflect what the Kazakh program churns out for the most part. So either he is self-taught (which has seen mixed results in the past, working out pretty well for, say, a Dmitry Pirog for as long as his career lasted before the spinal issues, but failing to prepare a Grzegorz Proksa for the reality check of stepping up in class and getting destroyed) or it comes from being the protégé of Mussakhanov. The latter scenario is disturbing as coaches with their own wacky styles often ruin many otherwise very promising talents before finding - if they're lucky - one needle in the haystack that can be very successful with it. Thinking of guys like Brendan Ingle or Ulli Wegner. All the more worrying if Mussakhanov doesn't even have a background in boxing to begin with. Say what you will about Ingle or Wegner, they at least eat breathed and lived this sport for most of their lives.

 

The only real elite (and that's in the context of the amateurs, the guy still has never made the jump to pro) in those videos is Niyazymbetov, and IMO he took all the southpaw's best shots pretty well - either rolling with them or just absorbing them flush, and Niyazymbetov has a reputation for hitting fairly hard. Then again, having that much devil-may-care absolute confidence in your own punch resistance doesn't usually spell out a very long career. He might be a little too macho for his own good.

 

He also in that match had the habit of jumping in after getting off to quickly tie up and/or throw some rabbit punches. That's preferable to pausing to admire your own work or backing straight up, but in the pros the clinching and hitting behind the head won't be tolerated as much, so he will need a plan B for after he finishes a combo - ideally, more of a bent toward lateral movement.

 

Also, can anybody on here with a straight face make the case for Niyazymbetov winning that? Under any scoring criteria?

Even the broadcaster, KazSport, appeared to be "in" on it, with the highlights after each round and following the announcement edited to show Niyazymbetov's most flattering (or least unflattering moments) - which sometimes amounted to literally a blocked flurry, or Niyaz slipping a couple of punches that still actually did graze him being the best they could dredge up.

 

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Cheers, PP!!

 

So... this kid went from being practically unheard of beyond his own borders just a week ago, total obscurity, to now having a hype engine aggressively burning coal along the front page of the ESB forum. This started out as just a case of me being mildly interested to see the clash of unbeaten prospects between him and Hill, then became a crusade for justice (feeling like he deserved as much of a push as possible after Hill and/or his team almost squashed out his victory's sweetness with the attempted burial of it), and now after watching so much of him and some interviews, he might be my 3rd favorite active Kazakhstani boxer, just behind Golovkin himself and Yeshenov (who got robbed badly robbed a few months ago in the UK). I think I already like him more than other notables like Zhakayinov, Islam, or Bakhtiyar Eyubov (the crowd-pleasing but crude slugger that did us all the favor of running sloppy ass speed-and-flash peddler Karim Mayfield off TV).

 

I'm going to keep stoking this sum-bitch until he lands on American television where he belongs. Hype train in full effect.

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To be clear, when I say Ali, you say...

 

So as of the August edition of the WBC rankings, their previous Youth World champ (Toni Kraft) was just barely in their light heavyweight top 40, at #36, just ahead of Egor Mekhontsev. Kraft didn't really have anything on his record beyond what Akhmedov has already, so there's a chance when the September edition rolls out in a couple of weeks Ali might crack the bottom end or replace Kraft in the high thirties.

 

As president of the fan club I am making an executive decision. Homeboy needs a nickname to boost his nascent star power here stateside. We eat that WAS theatricality **** up here.

My submissions:

• "The Battery" (as in AA, plus double meaning as mortar or artillery unit in military terminology...plus he seems to have a decent gas tank, at least for having never gone longer than eight)
• Ali "Bomaye" Akhmedov (because know your baaaaxing lore)
• Ali "The Almaty Maravilla" Akhmedov (because he's a swagged-out hands-low devilishly handsome ladykiller)
• "The Qazaq N Roll Express" (because his defensive style, also because I'm a dork)
• S.O.G.G.G. (because he's a good boy following his hero's footsteps)
• Papa Niyazymbetov (because watch that fight)

 

"Auld Lang Syne" (as in "should Ali Akhmedov be forgot..) ?

 

@PinoyProdigy his record was edited again, now reverted to 8-0.

I'm citing the source of (beyond just my eyeballs and common sense watching the videos) asiaboxing.info, who believes them both to be legit pro bouts despite looking kind of ratchet and taking place in a small gymnasium with barely any spectators. That's no different from the entire pro careers or Charlie Zelenoff or Ali Raymi.

I mean, it definitely isn't sparring. There is a timekeeper, ref, and judges. You wouldn't see that for a gym war. Rodzovic and Paleyeu are pros, who invited this beast into their home of Belarus and got KTFO.