By Craig Daly: #5 WBC, #5 WBA heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs) stole the limelight away from the headliner Jared Anderson with his brilliant second round knockout victory over the 6’8″ Raphael Akpejiori (15-1, 14 KOs) last Saturday night at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
This was supposed to have been Jared Anderson’s night, but Makhmudov out-performed him, showing that Top Rank is investing their money in the wrong guy.
This performance from Makhmudov may scare off other promoters from wanting to match their fighters with him. Certainly, Top Rank won’t take the chance of allowing Jared Anderson to fight Makhmudov because the outcome could be disastrous for him.
Makhmudov would have been a nightmare for Jared Anderson, and that’s not something that will likely change with more seasoning for the Toledo native. Jared lacks the chin, power, size, and talent to deal with powerful guys like Makmudov and Deontay Wilder.
The powerful 6’6″ Makhmudov dropped Akpejiori three times in the fight before referee Wes Melton stopped the contest at 1:43 of round two after seeing that the Nigerian fighter was out of his class.
Akpejiori was down twice in round one and once in the second round. The ending came after Makhmudov knocked Akpejiori down with a hard left hook to the head.
Makhmudov looked like a wrecking machine, going right after Akpejiori from the opening bell, nailing him with looping shots initially in the opening round.
When it became clear to the 34-year-old Makhmudov that Akpejiori was intent on clinching to shut down his offense, he adjusted to begin throwing uppercuts, and that was the beginning of the end for the previously unbeaten Nigerian fighter.
The victory for Makhmudov keeps him in the running for an eventual title shot. He needs better competition because it’s pointless for him to be fighting guys like Akpejiori, Carlos Takam, Michael Wallisch, and Erkaan Teper at his age and with his amateur background.
“What about Arslanbek Makhmudov that we saw in here tonight? He was in with Raphael Akpejiori. He was completely overmatched,” said Bernardo Osuna to the State of Boxing last Saturday night.
“Makhmudov, did he look good, or was it such an awkward fight that it was impossible to know.”
“It’s tough to tell,” said Andre Ward. “I think he did what he was supposed to do because Akpejiori was awkward and athletic. You think with those guys, ‘It’s a mismatch]’ but he’s so awkward that you’re not letting me get the punch in that I want to.
“So, for Makhmudov, I think he did a great job. He was trying to land the big shot over the top, and he realized that he needed to go underneath, and he showed a lot of skill set for a big guy,” said Ward.
“He showed a lot of ring IQ,” said Bradley about Makhmudov.
“This was a great night for Makhmudov,” said Mark Kriegel. “He got some shine and got a guy out of there in two rounds.
“He was awkward, he was grabbing. Marc Ramsay, who was scouting him from the amateurs, what do you want from him? ‘I want someone that will create a sense of menace.’
“Well, you got the menace tonight. Artur Beterbiev is one of the guys that hipped him to Makhmudov,” said Kriegel.
“It seems like Makhmudov is tough. He’s rough. I saw him as brutally strong, rough,” said Bradley. “Did you see his neck? His neck is bigger than my head, bro. His neck is literally as big as my head. His neck is like this.”
“Makhmudov is so physical that he literally ran into Akpejiori and kind of gave him a shoulder,” said Andre Ward. “That’s the kind of thing that you have to deal with when you fight Makhmudov. “The punches and the physicality. He bumps into you, and it feels like a brick.”
“He knocks you off balance, breaks your rhythm, don’t let you get into your rhythm, punches you behind the head. There’s a lot of stuff going on [with Makhmudov],” said Bradley.