Artur Akavov


Artur Akavov is a Russian professional boxer who has challenged twice for the WBO 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 had a record of 16-1 by 2016 and obtained a top ten ranking by the WBO, which eventually led to his opportunity to fight for a world title. The WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders was under pressure to make the first defence of the title he'd won by defeating Andy Lee 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. 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, 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.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
22Loss19–3 Demetrius AndradeTKO12, 2:36Jan 18, 2019 Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.For WBO middleweight title
21Win19–2 Gonzalo Gaston CoriaUD10May 12, 2018 Arena Riga, Riga, LatviaWon vacant WBO International middleweight title
20Win18–2 Jean Carlos PradaKO1, 0:55Mar 24, 2018 Sport Hall Energia, Narva, Estonia
19Win17–2 Josue Obando8Apr 22, 2017 Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
18Loss16–2 Billy Joe SaundersUD12Dec 3, 2016 Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, ScotlandFor WBO middleweight title
17Win16–1 Todd ManuelTKO6, 0:37Mar 30, 2016 BB King Blues Club & Grill, New York, U.S.
16Win15–1 Freddy LopezTKO2, 2:04Nov 20, 2015 Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
15Win14–1 Michel MothmoraUD12Jun 12, 2015 A Le Coq Sports Palace, Tartu, EstoniaWon vacant WBF World middleweight title
14Win13–1 David MakaradzeTKO7, 0:20Mar 21, 2015 Tondiraba Ice Hall, Tallinn, EstoniaRetained WBO European middleweight title
13Win12–1 Sebastian Skrzypczynski4, 0:22Feb 13, 2015 Ice Palace, Pskov, RussiaRetained WBO European middleweight title
12Win11–1 Sandor MicskoKO4, 2:47Oct 31, 2014 SuperClub, Pskov, RussiaRetained WBO European middleweight title
11Win10–1 Ivan JukicKO2, 1:23May 15, 2014 SuperClub, Pskov, RussiaWon vacant WBO European middleweight title
10Win9–1 Marat Khuzeev1, 1:15Nov 30, 2013 SuperClub, Pskov, Russia
9Win8–1 Bekzod YunusovUD10Apr 27, 2013 Gigant Hall Parakhod, Pskov, Russia
8Win7–1 Evgeny MeshkovUD6Nov 24, 2012 SuperClub, Pskov, Russia
7Win6–1 Dmitry PankratovUD6Jul 14, 2012 Gigant Hall Parakhod, Pskov, Russia
6Loss5–1 Oleg LiseevUD8Apr 4, 2012 Crocus City Hall, Myakinino, Russia
5Win5–0 Sergey SergeevUD6Oct 8, 2011 Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
4Win4–0 Andrey TylilyukUD6Jul 26, 2011 Circus, Sochi, Russia
3Win3–0 Gevorg AkopyanUD4May 27, 2011 Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2Win2–0 Sherkhomil RakhimovUD4Apr 16, 2011 Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
1Win1–0 Andrey Korzhenevsky4Mar 4, 2011 Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia