Murodjon Akhmadaliev

Murodjon Akhmadaliev is a former unified super-bantamweight world champion. Born on November 2, 1994, in Uzbekistan, the man known as ‘MJ’ is promoted by Eddie Hearn, having signed with Matchroom Boxing in April 2019. 

Now based in Indio, California, Akhmadaliev relocated to the United States following a successful amateur career representing his country. During that time, he won silver at the World Amateur Championships in 2015 and bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio where he was defeated in the semi-finals by eventual gold medallist Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba.

Akhmadaliev turned pro in March 2018 on a Brooklyn show promoted by Evander Holyfield. He moved quickly, winning a WBA Inter-Continental belt in just his fourth contest. That title enabled him to secure a solid ranking and eventually fight the unified WBA and IBF super-bantamweight champion, Daniel Roman, in January 2020.

The pair clashed in Miami and the Uzbek became the new duel title holder, winning a split decision. Akhmadaliev took over a year to make his first defence due to the pandemic. When it came, he fought back home in Uzbekistan, knocking out Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa in round five. 

Akhmadaliev made two further defences before suffering a shock loss to Marlon Tapales in April 2023, losing both of his belts. Despite talk of a weight jump, MJ remained at 122, defeating Kevin Gonzalez in an elimination match at the end of 2023.

Joel Diaz

Akhmadaliev is trained by Joel Diaz, a former fighter who retired due to a detached retina. Diaz has coached the likes of Timothy Bradley, Israil Madrimov and Ruslan Provodnikov. MJ Akhmadaliev unified two of the super-bantamweight titles in 2020 under Diaz’s tutelage.