Matchroom Boxing has had a monopoly on the September 17th Canelo vs. Golovkin 3 undercard so far, but GGG Promotions got a foot in the door today, announcing that super middleweight contender Ali Akhmedov will appear on the show opposite Gabriel Rosado,
The fight joins Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Israel Gonzalez and Austin “Ammo” Williams vs Kieron Conway.
Akhmedov (18-1, 14 KO) has fought just twice since a final-round comeback knockout loss to Carlos Gongora in December 2020, stopping David Zegarra and Paul Valenzuela in four rounds combined. He’s clearly still very promising at 27, and with a top-10 spot in the IBF rankings and one of their trinkets on the line, a win here would ease him up the rankings.
“I’m happy to be a part of this show on DAZN PPV,” said Akhmedov. “It is a great opportunity for me to demonstrate my skills, especially against such seasoned opponent as Gabriel Rosado. Rosado is very experienced and has a history of fighting the best talents in this division which motivates me even more.”
Rosado (26-15-1, 15 KO) resurrected his career with a stunning one-punch wipeout of Bektemir Melikuziev, but he’s yet to taste victory since. Though a loss to Jaime Munguia was expected, he looked bad against Shane Mosley Jr in April. He’s always been too small for 168, too, so I don’t see this ending well unless he can summon up the same punch that felled “Bek the Bully.”
“I’m looking forward to being a part of one of the biggest fight cards of the year,” said Rosado. “This is an opportunity to do what I did against Bektemir and put myself right back in world title contention!”