By: Sean Crose
Murodjon Akhmadaliev placed his WBA and IBF super bantamweight titles against Ronny Rios in a scheduled 12th round match at Tech Port Arena in San Antonio on Saturday. 10-0 Akhmadaliev and 33-3 Rios basically felt each other from the first time. The second inning saw each man fight intelligently, thinking it was Rios who was pushing for action, albeit carefully. Both men made free throws in the third inning, although it looked like Akhmadaliev was starting to take control.
The defending champion hit his south seesaw in the fourth round to good effect. Akhmadaliev seemed to be in the driver’s seat in the fifth plane, moving flexibly and landing at will. Akhmadaliev’s poke continued to dominate in the sixth inning. Rios started absorbing top lanes like thunder in the seventh installment. Rios threw very hard in the eighth round, but it was not the challenger who got the heavier shots.
Both men fought hard in a thrilling ninth match. Rios was determined, gamer and proficient in the tenth round, as he did in all fights. However, it seems that he was simply and ultimately outmatched by Akhmadaliev. The champion’s heavyweight hits seemed to have an impact on Rios in the eleventh inning. By his twelfth year, Rios found himself beaten and lying on a mat. He got up, but the referee stopped the match a few seconds later, because Rios simply took too much damage.
