Ali Akhmedov takes the next step in the fight against Encarnacion Diaz
Ali Akhmedov and Gabriel Rosado fight on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin undercard (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Game Room).
Ali Akhmedov is ready to enter the mixed martial arts division at 168 kilograms.
Akhmedov will face Encarnacion Diaz on Thursday night at the Wayne State FieldHouse in Detroit, Michigan. The 10-round bout will be at Big Time Boxing USA The card will headline the heavyweight fight between Jermaine Franklin and Devin Vargas.
On Wednesday’s scale, Akhmedov weighed 171.6 kilograms. Diaz weighed 169.6 pounds.
Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes Akhmedov could fight the best fights in the super middleweight division later this year.
“Ali is one of the most talented fighters in the super middleweight division of Kazakhstan,” Salita told The Ring on Tuesday afternoon. “(He is) a world-class talent (who) is a fight or two away from fighting the best in the world. Big Time Boxing USA will give fans the opportunity to see him develop under coach Jonathan Banks in Detroit, (one of the most historic homes of boxing).
Akhmedov (20-1, 15 knockouts), who now lives in Los Angeles, last fought on April 27, stopping rival Carlos Rivero of Venezuela in the second round. In his last fight in September 2022, Akhmedov defeated Gabriel Rosado by unanimous decision.
The 28-year-old has won his last four fights since a December 2020 knockout loss to Carlos Gongora. At the end of the match, Akhmedov won all three judges’ points.
Akhmedov also posted knockout wins over DeShon Webster, Marcus McDaniel, and David Zegarra.
Diaz (18-4 1 No contest, 11 KOs), a native of Nicaragua and now a resident of San Jose, Costa Rica, stopped fighter Celso Ocampo in the second round of his last fight on March 16.
The 40-year-old Diaz is undefeated since a knockout loss to Bilel Latreche on October 31.
Franklin (22-2, 14 KOs) weighed 254 pounds. Vargas (22-10, 9 KOs) came in at 235.2 pounds.
In a compelling eight-round bout between undefeated lightweight prospects, Joshua Pagan (9-0, 4 KOs) of nearby Grand Rapids will face Roger Hilley (13-0, 8 KOs) of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Both Pagan and Hilley weigh 135.4 pounds.
Salita noted that tonight’s card is a mix of fights between top undefeated fighters and contenders who are fighting in exhibition fights, looking to solidify their standing or move up in their weight classes.
“This series is a combination of Tuesday Night Fights and ShoBox, with the aim of being a platform to develop skills in the United States,” said Salita.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
