On April 8, 2023, the 28-year-old WBA (Super) and IBF super-bantamweight world champion, Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8 KOs), faced a 31-year-old Filipino boxer Marlon Tapales (36-3, 18 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Akhmadaliev came in to the fight on a 11-fight win streak with a 72% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 9 months and 14 days. Tapales was on a 3-fight win streak with a 46% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 10 months and 25 days.
Marlon Tapales defeated Murodjon Akhmadaliev via split decision and wins the WBA (Super) and IBF titles. Tapales improves his record to 37-3, while Akhmadaliev adds a loss to his record at 11-1.