Artur Akavov (born 14 December 1985) is a Russian

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who has challenged twice for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

middleweight title in 2016 and 2019.

Professional career

Akavov boxed at various European national championships as an amateur before turning professional. In May 2014, Akavov won the minor WBO European title and went on to defend it three times.

Akavov vs. Saunders

Akavov had a record of 16-1 by 2016 and obtained a top ten ranking by the

, which eventually led to his opportunity to fight for a world title. The WBO middleweight champion

Billy Joe Saunders Billy Joe Saunders (born 30 August 1989) is a British professional boxer. He is the first fighter from the Travelling community to win world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title from 2015 to 2018 and the ...

was under pressure to make the first defence of the title he'd won by defeating

Andy Lee Andy Lee may refer to: __NOTOC__ Sportspeople * Andy Lee (American football) (born 1982), American football punter * Andy Lee (boxer) (born 1984), Irish boxer * Andy Lee (footballer, born 1982), English footballer for Bradford City * Andy Lee (footb ...

almost a year previously. A hand injury to Saunders and two cancelled defences earlier in the year lead to Akavov being offered the fight, with the fight originally scheduled to take place on 22 October at the Motorpoint Arena in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. A muscle injury to Saunders then meant the fight was rescheduled for 26 November, before visa issues for Akavov caused the fight to be put back a further week to 3 December and the venue changed to the Paisley Lagoon Centre near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Scotland. The fight was fairly close for the first six rounds, with Saunders coming on strong for the next four rounds which seemed to tire him somewhat for the last two. Saunders claimed a unanimous decision after the full twelve rounds to retain his title, with the three judges scoring it 116-112, 116-113 and 115-113 in his favour. After the fight Saunders apologised to his fans, describing his performance as "flat" and "terrible". Many observers felt the decision could have gone either way, with the CompuBox final punch stats stating that Saunders landed 82/579 of punches to Akavov's 81/624, with both fighters outlanding the other in six rounds each.

Akavov vs. Andrade

On 18 January, 2019, Akavov challenged for the WBO middleweight title for the second time in his career, this time against

Demetrius Andrade Demetrius Cesar Andrade ( ; born February 26, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO light middleweight title between 2013-2015, the WBA (Regular) title in 201 ...

. Andrade outboxed Akavov through most of the fight. Early in the final round, the referee decided to wave the fight off and award Andrade the TKO victory.

Akavov vs. Falcao

On 20 February, 2021, Akavov fought Esquiva Falcao. Falcao was ranked #5 by the WBO and the IBF and #8 by the WBC at middleweight. Falcao beat Akavov by technical knockout in the 4th round.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Artur Akavov - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
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Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akavov, Artur 1985 births Living people Russian male boxers Kumyks Sportspeople from Novocherkassk Martial artists from Rostov Oblast Middleweight boxers 21st-century Russian sportsmen