Debutant Mohammed Alakel is victorious in Riyadh
The debutant Mohammed Alakel kicked off the main card at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia with victory over the now 3-3 Colombian Jesus Gonzalez.
The first session was a free-swinging affair in which Alakel, 20, used his height and reach to keep the South American at bay while raiding in behind straight shots.
He tried to get his jab pumping in the second and he showed some good variety. Gonzalez, 21, couldn’t find his way into range, and when he did he was often picked off.
Alakel, trained by Joe Gallagher, stayed ahead the rest of the way and should be pleased with his performance after a limited amateur career.
Gonzalez was satisfied to hear the final bell, and Alakel equally jubilant to have won his first professional contest.
All three judges scored 40-36 in favour of Alakel.
Earlier in the evening, at junior middleweight, another debutant in Marco Maric also won over four rounds, via a score of 40-36, over Christian Lopez Flores, who is now 14-46-2 (14 KOs).
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.