MURODJON Akhmadaliev made light work of a heavy-handed opponent in Monte-Carlo on Saturday evening and while the display may have surprised some in its brutality, MJ’s manager Vadim Kornilov knew that his man was full of spite and not willing to hang around.
“I think when MJ is fully focused and when he’s fully motivated he gets these types of performances every time. He showed that in previous fights,” Kornilov told Boxing News.
“I think the Tapales fight, even though we always thought that he won that fight, I think he could have been a little bit better, but it was another defence. Sometimes, they lose a little bit of motivation there.”
That fight with Marlon Tapales, which saw MJ arrive potentially undermotivated, resulted in the loss of his two world title belts. Both Kornilov and Eddie Hearn often mention how they felt their man was underpar yet won anyway. Regardless, in the two fights since losing to the Filipino, Akhmadaliev has shown more nastiness in his output.
Vadim Kornilov believes there is a clear reason why a more hungry and devastating version has appeared, including the one that decked Ricardo Espinoza Franco three times and out last night.
“Yeah, because he sees a challenge. He’s motivated to get to that undisputed fight. He understands that it’s somewhere close and it can possibly happen. I think that really motivates him.”
