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 vs. Saunders

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.

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. 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

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
24Loss20–4Esquiva FalcãoRTD4, 3:00Feb 20, 2021MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
23Win20–3Sergei MelisTKO5, 1:56Oct 18, 2019Olymp Maardu-Kalev, Maardu, Estonia
22Loss19–3Demetrius AndradeTKO12, 2:36Jan 18, 2019Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.For WBO middleweight title
21Win19–2Gonzalo Gaston CoriaUD10May 12, 2018Arena Riga, Riga, LatviaWon vacant WBO International middleweight title
20Win18–2Jean Carlos PradaKO1, 0:55Mar 24, 2018Sport Hall Energia, Narva, Estonia
19Win17–2Josue Obando8Apr 22, 2017Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
18Loss16–2Billy Joe SaundersUD12Dec 3, 2016Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, ScotlandFor WBO middleweight title
17Win16–1Todd ManuelTKO6, 0:37Mar 30, 2016BB King Blues Club & Grill, New York, U.S.
16Win15–1Freddy LopezTKO2, 2:04Nov 20, 2015Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
15Win14–1Michel MothmoraUD12Jun 12, 2015A Le Coq Sports Palace, Tartu, EstoniaWon vacant WBF World middleweight title
14Win13–1David MakaradzeTKO7, 0:20Mar 21, 2015Tondiraba Ice Hall, Tallinn, EstoniaRetained WBO European middleweight title
13Win12–1Sebastian Skrzypczynski4, 0:22Feb 13, 2015Ice Palace, Pskov, RussiaRetained WBO European middleweight title
12Win11–1Sandor MicskoKO4, 2:47Oct 31, 2014SuperClub, Pskov, RussiaRetained WBO European middleweight title
11Win10–1Ivan JukicKO2, 1:23May 15, 2014SuperClub, Pskov, RussiaWon vacant WBO European middleweight title
10Win9–1Marat Khuzeev1, 1:15Nov 30, 2013SuperClub, Pskov, Russia
9Win8–1Bekzod YunusovUD10Apr 27, 2013Gigant Hall Parakhod, Pskov, Russia
8Win7–1Evgeny MeshkovUD6Nov 24, 2012SuperClub, Pskov, Russia
7Win6–1Dmitry PankratovUD6Jul 14, 2012Gigant Hall Parakhod, Pskov, Russia
6Loss5–1Oleg LiseevUD8Apr 4, 2012Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, Russia
5Win5–0Sergey SergeevUD6Oct 8, 2011Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
4Win4–0Andrey TylilyukUD6Jul 26, 2011Circus, Sochi, Russia
3Win3–0Gevorg AkopyanUD4May 27, 2011Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2Win2–0Sherkhomil RakhimovUD4Apr 16, 2011Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia
1Win1–0Andrey Korzhenevsky4Mar 4, 2011Typhoon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia