Botirjon Abdullaevich Akhmedov (; born 20 December 1990), better known as Batyr Akhmedov, and previously Batuhan Gözgeç, is a Russian professional boxer. He is a two-time super-lightweight world title challenger, having challenged for the WBA (Regular) title in 2019, and the WBA title in 2022. As an amateur he represented Turkey at the 2016 Olympics.
Amateur career He won the gold medal at the 2015 International Kadyrov Tournament held in Grozny, Chechen Republic, Russia.
Akhmedov earned a quota spot for 2016 Summer Olympics after taking the bronze medal at the 2016 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Samsun, Turkey.
Professional boxing career Akhmedov made his professional debut on 23 February 2017, scoring a third-round technical knockout (TKO) over Dmitry Lavrinenko at the Forum in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
After compiling a record of 7–0 (6 KOs) he faced Mario Barrios for the vacant WBA (Regular) super-lightweight title on 28 September 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In a fight which saw Akhmedov have a knockdown scored against him after his gloves touched the canvas in the fourth round and a second knockdown in the twelfth and final round, Akhmedov lost via unanimous decision (UD), a decision which many described as controversial. Judge Jeremy Hayes scored the bout 116–111, judge Tim Cheatham scored it 115–111, and judge Zachary Young scored it 114–112.
Almost three years later, Akhmedov would challenge again for a vacant super-lightweight world title, this time the full WBA title against undefeated Alberto Puello on 20 August 2022. Puello won the fight by split decision. Two judges scored the fight 117–111 for Puello, while the third judge scored the fight 115–113.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes14Loss10–4Oscar DuarteUD10 16 Nov 202413Win10–3Mukhammadsalim SotvoldievTKO3 (8), 6 Nov 202312Loss9–3Kenneth Sims Jr.1213 May 202311Loss9–2Alberto Puello1220 Aug 202210Win9–1Argenis MendezRTD8 (12), 26 Jun 20219Win8–1Rey PerezKO1 (10), 6 Sep 20208Loss7–1Mario BarriosUD1228 Sep 20197Win7–0Francisco Gabriel PinaRTD5 (8), 25 May 20196Win6–0Viktor Plotnikov6 (8), 30 Mar 20195Win5–0Ismael Barroso9 (12), 18 Aug 20184Win4–0Oscar BarajasTKO3 (8), 21 Apr 20183Win3–0Ricky Sismundo1017 Mar 20182Win2–0Levani TsiklauriTKO2 (6), 9 Dec 20171Win1–0Dmitry Lavrinenko3 (4), 23 Feb 2017
References