On March 2, 2024, 25-year-old Otabek Kholmatov (12-0, 11 KOs) and 24-year-old Raymond Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs) fought for the vacant WBA (Regular) featherweight title.
Kholmatov came in to the fight on a 12-fight win streak with a 91% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 2 months and 22 days. Ford was on a 6-fight win streak with a 46% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 10 months and 23 days.
Raymond Ford stopped Otabek Kholmatov via TKO in the final round of the 12-round world-title fight. Ford improves his record to 15-0-1 (8 KOs), while Kholmatov adds a loss to his record at 12-1.