Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) defeated former 140-lb champion Devin Heaney via a 10-round unanimous decision over Bortezon ‘The Shark’ Akhmidov (10-4, 9 KOs) last Saturday night at The Venue. Called after winning. In Riyadh
Duarte began to slow down, struggling with the skills, angles and sharp punches of the skilled Akhmidov, but coming into the championship round he was hurt by left hooks and right hands in the eighth round.
Duarte’s power knocked him out.
This was easily the best fight on the Latino Night card last night, as Duarte and Akhmedov were throwing non-stop power shots and neither guy was backing down. Akhmedov’s moniker, ‘The Shark’, was perfect for him as he relentlessly attacked Duarte, like a beastly apex predator.
Score
98-92
96-94
97-93
The shots Duarte landed in the fight against Akhmedov were heavy, and it’s admirable that he stayed with him for the full ten rounds without breaking. What sealed the win for Duarte was hurting Akhmedov in the eighth. Duarte started to sit on all his shots from the eighth, and dominated the final round to win.
In hindsight, it makes sense why Ryan Garcia He is still in awe of the power he was throwing with when they fought on December 2, 2023.
This was a fight in which Ryan was using a flak shell, trying to block Duarte’s incoming fire, and not doing a good job of it. Duarte quickly dealt with Ryan’s initial attempts at using this defensive posture and bombarded him with non-stop power shots.
His left hook smash saved Ryan, which he used to stun Duarte in the eighth and then finish him with a short salvo.
Haney on Duarte’s radar
“Now that Devin Haynie is back, I’d like to fight him because he’s one of the best fighters in my division. But I’m ready to fight anybody — I want to fight the top fighters out there. Yes,” Duarte said in a post-fight interview after his win over Akhmedov.
It’s doubtful Heaney (31-0, 15 KOs) will take Duarte up to his challenge because he hits so hard, and Dion is coming off a bad loss against Ryan last April. Going into a match with a heavy hitter like Duarte with a tough fight like that would be dangerous for Haynie. Additionally, this won’t be a fight that pays off too much for Hani unless the Honorable Turki Al-Sheikh is interested in putting the match together with Duarte for a headline event at one of his Riyadh season events.
Oscar Duarte wants to fight the best and the eyes. @Realdevinhaney Competition 👀#Riyadh season | #Latin Night | Live and Free on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/NU10l85ny8
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 16, 2024
