Murodjon Akhmadaliev will have a golden opportunity this Saturday in his first defense of the World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Bantamweight Super Championship. The 122-pound monarch will face Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa in Uzbekistan and it will be his first professional fight in his native country.

The Humo Arena, in Tashkent, will be the venue where Akhmadaliev will defend his title against a strong and experienced opponent like the Japanese, who comes with all his energy looking to surprise everyone and spoil the party for the local fighter.

The 26-year-old fighter, who has made his entire professional career in the U.S., won his belt on January 30th when he defeated Daniel Roman in a tough fight held in Miami, Florida. Murodjon won a split decision and got the WBA belt, as well as the IBF belt.

He will now make his first defense against Iwasa, a 31-year-old veteran who is a former world champion and wants to regain that status. The native of Kashiwa, Chiba, comes from defeating Filipino Marlon Tapales and earning the right to face the champion.

This week, the promotional events of the Matchroom Boxing event will take place, with the presence of great Uzbek talents such as Shakhram Giyasov (10-0, 8 KOs), who will defend his WBA-International Super Lightweight belt against Mexican Patricio Lopez (28-4, 20 KOs) in the co-main fight.

Akhmadaliev has a record of 8 wins in as many fights, and 6 KOs, while Iwasa has 27 wins, 3 losses, and 17 knockout victories.