Riyadh Season: Latino Night | Oscar Duarte vs. Batyr Akhmedov Fight Highlights

Kenneth Sims Jr. was supposed to be the opponent for Oscar Duarte tonight, but suffered a knee injury. So in steps the very dangerous Achmedov. Look at the stats here. You can see Duarte is taller and will have about a three inch reach advantage, but don't expect him to use it. This is going to be a phone booth war. Ten rounds, super lightweights. Punches here. It's been said that familiarity breeds contempt. And while there's no contempt between these two men, there is a lot of familiarity. Both former stablemates under Joel Diaz have sparred dozens of rounds together. Neither one of them took a step back in those sparring sessions. I think I give both these guys credit for taking this fight. For Achmedov taking the fight on short notice coming in a month before he was scheduled to fight his last fighter. For Duarte, we're taking on a very different type of opponent. He was scheduled to face Kenneth Sims. Instead, he gets back to Achmedov. And Achmedov has faced Kenneth Sims before. That was back in May of 2023. He lost a very close majority decision. Many people felt he won that fight. Three close decision losses. Mario Barrios, Albert Puelo, and Kenneth Sims. Two of those fights were for world titles. Duarte trying to creep forward himself now. Trying to hold the center of the ring. And he doesn't like it, Achmedov. You can see really biting down on the gum shield, letting big shots go because he wants to dominate from the center of the ring. Yeah, but he actually gets an angle. So he doesn't stay in front of Duarte too long. Anytime he throws three or four punches, notice how he steps around the left foot of Duarte and gets an angle on him. Yeah, you need to keep doing this. Exactly what you said, Sergio. That step to the right, Achmedov. Yeah, that's the only thing that I see that separates between both of them. They're throwing similar punches. They're both strong. They're both heavy-handed. But the better footwork is definitely with Achmedov. And when he gets that angle, he can actually attack from that side. And Duarte's vulnerable on that side. Yeah, it's not just an exit, is it? It's an opportunity to find further angles and opening. Achmedov seems like he's focused a little bit more on the body than Duarte is. Duarte lands a left hook. Duarte should be forcing on uppercuts. And of course, body shots. Because if you notice, the elbows are a little bit open. He has a tight guard, but he slightly opens his elbows up a little bit when he goes offensively. Achmedov boxing really, really smartly this first minute of the first third round. Moving nicely, kind of using the momentum of Duarte to walk onto the shots, step into side to side. The difference to me right now that separates this close fight is the angles. I'll say it again. So I'm actually favoring Achmedov right now in these tight exchanges. Achmedov seems a little busier as well. His issue is restraining this discipline though, Todd. He just loves to get involved in a real terror of war. He's steeped in this kind of boxing. He holds himself in a good position in this fight. I don't think there's been a clinch yet. Yeah, good point. I used to love Lucasso back in the 90s. David Ginola. I think these guys started really hard this round. It's like a tallying round to separate each other. It's been such a tight, close fight, maybe benefiting Achmedov. Duarte really needs to break himself apart and do something big. He can't let this fight get away from him, and that's why he started off so eagerly in this round. Yeah, I think he would like to be busier than he is, but again, to talk about the movement of Achmedov, it's not allowing Duarte to let his shots go in bunches. Chris Mannix is scoring this fight. How do you have it? Yeah, I've got three rounds to one in favor of Batyr Achmedov. Razor thin round, no doubt about it. I think the activity level and the accuracy of Achmedov is a differentiator. Very small one in the first four rounds of this fight. Didn't you call this a car crash earlier? That's what we're seeing, isn't it? We choke it, and that's exactly what it is in the middle of the ring. Four rounds to go here. Did a good left hook, straight right to the body, went back upstairs with a left hook, but needs to work. Jabber stats, the high impact landed punches from Achmedov, pretty distinct, but other than that, pretty similar. Yeah, the accuracy has remained for Achmedov, but now in that department, the timing's starting to change ever so slightly. I just talked to Joel Diaz in the corner of Achmedov, he said, unless I'm crazy, we're winning every single round. This is really good from Achmedov, I like this. Not loading up, he's taking the power out of the shot. Whoa, what a buckling shot there from Duarte, and Achmedov in trouble. Duarte, you can tell, just trying to find another entry to get in and land another power punch, Achmedov not gonna let him. Achmedov's the type of fighter that fights back when he's hurt. Yeah, that's his defense, isn't it? That's his defense, yeah, so Duarte should take advantage of it. It's gonna be painful, but listen, man, you might be behind in this fight, so you gotta be aggressive yourself. Take your chances in exchange with this monster. Yeah, for better or worse, he just kept punching after taking that big shot. Yeah, I've got 77-75 in favor of Apatyr Achmedov. I do think Duarte's won two of the last three rounds, and his activity level has picked up. In that seventh round, he landed that big shot that hurt Achmedov, but Achmedov's activity continues to keep him in the fight as we get towards these later rounds. There's still opportunity to land that uppercut from Duarte. There's been that opportunity, Darren. And it's still there, them elbows are very wired of Achmedov. They have given us everything they've got. Oh, and a straight right from Duarte, answered by a punch from Achmedov. But Duarte seems to have the better, flashier power punches, the ones the judges will notice. 15 seconds left. Looks like a gash on the forehead. Duarte, Achmedov lands a punch. And that will do it. It was indeed a slobbered ochre. Judge John Trella scores it 97 to 93. Noventa y siete a noventa y tres. And Judge Steve Weissfeld scores it 96 to 94. Noventa y seis a noventa y cuatro. For your winner by unanimous decision. Para el ganador por decisión unanime, Oscar La Migrana Duarte.