Marlon Tapales brought the fight to Murodjon Akhmadaliev as the aggressor and first fighter to the punch.
And Tapales left the Boeing Center at Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas as the new IBF/WBA junior featherweight unified world champion because of it Saturday night, live on DAZN. Judges saw it 115-113 for Tapales, 118-110 for Akhmadaliev and 115-113 for Tapales, who earned the split-decision upset.
Tapales, who was a huge underdog, threw nearly a hundred more punches than Akhmadaliev, throwing the champion off his rhythm and giving the Uzbekistan boxer more of a fight than he possibly bargained for.
Although Akhmadaliev came on strong late and finished the fight with a solid 12th round — even landing more punches than his opponent — Tapales had control over the first eight rounds and did more than enough early in the bout to pick up the victory.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t agree with the judges’ verdict.
Results:
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