With plenty of title fights going down in both Tokyo and Texas this weekend, Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Marlon Tapales has the potential to be the fight of the weekend. As the co-main event of Rodriguez vs. Gonzalez in San Antonio, this clash sees two evenly matched fighters come together to compete for the WBA and IBF Super Bantamweight belts.
Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev currently holds both of the belts, but Filipino Marlon Tapales will be eager to see that change over the weekend. With plenty firepower and experience on display between these two fighters, this should be an entertaining and competitive match-up.
We break down the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill ahead of this clash and outline some of the best bets to place on Akhmadaliev vs. Tapales.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 7th, 11:00 P.M. (GMT)
Bookmaker William Hill has the defending champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev as the favourite in the betting odds here, but not by much. Akhmadaliev sits at 1.25 to win the fight, while Tapales is behind at 3.60. It may seem as though there’s a fair gap in the odds here, but these are by far the closest odds being offered on a title fight this weekend.
Looking at the method of victory odds, we can see that the bookies believe Akhmadaliev will end this fight with a knockout. That result is paying as low as 1.61, while the Uzbek fighter winning by decision is the next most likely result at 4.00. For Tapales, his best chance is seen as a decision at 6.50 with a knockout paying long odds of 9.00 for the Filipino.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 7th, 11:00 P.M. (GMT)
While these boxers aren’t wildly dissimilar in terms of age—28 years for Akhmadaliev and 31 years for Tapales—they have a significant gap in experience as professionals.
Akhmadaliev had a much more extended amateur career, winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and is relatively new to professional fighting. Tapales, on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran who has fought 39 times as a professional for a 36-3-0 record.
Despite his relatively new arrival as a pro, Akhmadaliev has made his mark already. The 28-year-old is a perfect 11-0-0 and has won eight of his fights by way of knockout. With two belts in his possession already, expect Akhmadaliev to be motivated to defend them again—the last time he stepped into the ring as champion, he knocked out his opponent.
It’s hard to call this fight, whether the Uzbek will win by decision or knockout. On the one hand, Akhmadaliev has demonstrated excellent power and an ability to finish fights efficiently; on the other hand, Tapales is an intelligent boxer who will know how to avoid the weapons of Akhmadaliev. We say taking this one to go the distance is the best bet and backing the defending champion to win on points.
