Notebook: Akhmadaliev hungry to add more belts to collection, but first comes Iwasa

Split-T Management shakeup; Quick hits; Show and tell

Murodjon Akhmadaliev’s goal is to be the undisputed junior featherweight world champion and he got halfway there in his last fight.

That is when “MJ” Akhmadaliev challenged two-belt titleholder Daniel Roman on Jan. 30, 2020 in Miami on the Demetrius Andrade-Luke Keller undercard and won a split decision to become a unified titlist in just his eighth professional fight.

But any momentum Akhmadaliev gained with that significant victory quickly evaporated when boxing shut down soon after due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now he will try to pick up where he left off by making his first defense in a homecoming fight at Humo Arena in Tashkent, Uzbekistan when he faces interim titlist and mandatory challenger Ryosuke Iwasa on a Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN, 10 a.m. ET).

The fight will be Akhmadaliev’s first in his native country after having had all of his previous pro fights in the Untied States.

“When you fight at home, defending what belongs to you, that’s probably the most important fight,” Akhmadaliev said. “To give a good fight under the bright lights, that’s what I’m looking forward to. It’s a dream for any fighter to perform at home.”

Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6 KOs), 26, who was a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is not in easy in his first defense against fellow southpaw Iwasa (27-3, 17 KOs), 31, of Japan, who knocked out Marlon Tapales in the 11th round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to claim an interim belt in his last fight in December 2019.

“Ryosuke Iwasa is a warrior,” Akhmadaliev said. “He’s been in the ring with the very best. I rate him very highly and believe he is a very dangerous fighter. I have studied him and am ready for him as always. My team has done the work and I will do the work in the ring. I’m not going to give up anything to anybody.

“He is trying to get what is mine, but that’s not going to happen. Boxing is not always easy, just like life. It’s pretty much always hard. You have to have tough fights in the ring and in life. You have to endure tough times and that’s how it’s been in my life. I’m prepared for any challenge because of that.”

With a victory, Akhmadaliev hopes to move and face titleholders Luis Nery and Stephen Fulton in an effort to become undisputed champion. Those are not easy fights to make given their different promoters and broadcasters, but Akhmadaliev is hopeful.

“I am only focused on Iwasa, but as a champion my dream is to win every belt,” he said. “If everything goes well (Saturday), I will not avoid anybody. I want all the belts. I’m blessed to be a world champion. Now defending my belts at home is the next goal for me. I’m looking forward to showcasing myself, which is important to my countrymen, family and friends. I look forward to bringing the attention of the boxing world to Uzbekistan.”

The card also includes two of Akhmadaliev’s close friends and amateur teammates, junior welterweight Shakhram Giyasov and junior middleweight Israil Madrimov, both of whom are among boxing’s top prospects and will be in 10-round bouts.

Giyasov (10-0, 8 KOs), 27, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, fights Patricio Lopez Moreno (28-4, 20 KOs), 26, of Mexico, in the co-feature and Madrimov (6-0, 5 KOs), 27, meets Emmany Kalombo (14-0, 14 KOs), of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In another fight that DAZN will air, heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov (7-0, 7 KOs), 26, a 2016 Uzbekistan Olympian and 2019 world amateur championships gold medalist, fights Kristaps Zutis (7-1-2, 7 KOs), 30, of Latvia, in a six-rounder.

“Israil, Shakhram and I have been together for 15 years,” Akhmadaliev said. “We worked for world amateur rankings and becoming Asian (amateur) champions, world (amateur) champions, Olympians. We’ve been together through everything. Now being professional and have the chance to fight in a huge event at home, already being the champion is huge.”

VanNewhouse going solo

Manager Tim VanNewhouse, who has been responsible for bringing several talented fighters to Split-T Management and is known throughout the boxing industry for his eye for talent, announced on Friday that he has resigned from the company headed by David McWater to go out on his own.

“Today’s a big day for me as I close the door at Split-T mgmt. After more than 6 years with the company, I decided it was time to take a brave step to resign and invest in myself,” he wrote on social media. “This decision wasn’t easy, but I soon realized what I wanted to accomplish at the agency wasn’t going to be possible. However, I am proud of my accomplishments there and I thank David McWater and my colleagues for their support throughout the years.

“Soon I will share everything that I’m working on. But, at a minimum, I plan to continue my managerial practices in the fight game -- working with various fight-teams, networks, brokers and promoters.”

Among the fighters VanNewhouse brought to Split-T Management are super middleweight Diego Pacheco, welterweight Brian Ceballo and junior lightweight Abraham Nova, each of whom he also negotiated promotional deals. Pacheco is with Matchroom Boxing, Ceballo is with Tom Loeffler and Nova is with Top Rank.

McWater was voted 2020 manager of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and the company represents around 80 fighters, including 2020 fighter of the year and unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez Jr., former junior welterweight titlist Ivan Baranchyk and 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell as well as Nova, Pacheco and Ceballo.

Quick hits

Weights from Dubai for Saturday’s card on ESPN+: Jamel Herring 129.4 pounds, Carl Frampton 129.9 (for Herring’s junior lightweight world title); Tyrone McKenna 139.5, Zhankosh Turarov 140; Keyshawn Davis 138.2, Richman Ashelley 136; Donnie Nietes 114.8, Pablo Carrillo 114.6; Tursynbay Kulakhmet 153.8, Heber Rondon 153.6; Faizan Anwar 148.1, Evgenii Vazem 146.8; Fahad Al Bloushi 130, Suraj 129.6.

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Weights from Tashkent, Uzbekistan for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN: Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121.2 pounds, Ryosuke Iwasa 121.6 (for Akhmadaliev’s unified junior featherweight world title); Shakhram Giyasov 139.5, Patricio Lopez Moreno 139.3; Israil Madrimov 153.4, Emmany Kalombo 153.6; Bakhodir Jalolov 250, Kristaps Zutis 255.

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Ring City USA made official on Friday what I reported last week — that unbeaten American heavyweights Jermaine Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs), 27, of Saginaw, Michigan, and Stephan Shaw (14-0, 10 KOs), 28, of St. Louis, will meet in the 10-round main event of the card on April 22 (NBC Sports Net, 9 p.m. ET). The show will take place at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, the first boxing event to be held in the state since March 7, 2020 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the first time there will be professional bouts held at West Point.

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Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia announced Friday that he has signed Badien Hasso (19-0 10 KOs), 26, who was born in Iraq, fled the Sadam Hussein regime with his family – his father was a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party -- to Germany and now trains in Henderson, Nevada, where he is trained by Dwight Yarde. “Big thanks to Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing,” said Hasso, who has fought primarily as a light heavyweight but intends to move down to middleweight. “I look forward to taking the middleweight division by storm and showing the world what we Kurds are all about.”

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Eye of the Tiger Management announced on Friday that due to the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions in Quebec, it has postponed a card scheduled for April 17 at the Videotron Center in Quebec City  Montreal super middleweight David Lemieux (42-4, 35 KOs), a former middleweight world titlist, was due to headline against Spain’s Ronny Landaeta (17-3, 11 KOs). EOTT promoter Camille Estephan said the plan is to reschedule the card.

Show and tell

After Timothy Bradley Jr. and Kendall Holt each won junior welterweight world titles in mid-2007, they did not waste much time going after meaningful fights. Each made one defense against a good contender with Bradley outpointing Edner Cherry and Holt doing the same against Demetrius Hopkins and then they went right into a title unification fight, something some of today’s titleholders should do more of. Holt had some big moments, knocking Bradley down in the first round and again in the 12th round, but Bradley otherwise controlled the fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal en route to winning a unanimous decision (115-111, 115-111 and 114-112) as he unified two belts and maintained his perfect record on April 4, 2009 — 12 years ago on Sunday. Here is a scarce site poster signed by both Bradley and Holt in my collection.

Akhmadaliev-Iwasa photo: Ezekiel Thomas/Matchroom Boxing