Batyr Akhmedov outworks, stops Argenis Mendez after eight rounds

Batyr Akhmedov’s hard work paid off again.

The former Olympian from Uzbekistan outpunched and ultimately stopped Argenis Mendez after eight rounds in a scheduled 12-round 140-pound bout on the Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios card Saturday in Atlanta.

Mendez (25-7-3, 12 KOs) claimed in his corner after Round 8 that he couldn’t continue because of an injury to his right hand.

However, Akhmedov (9-1, 8 KOs) kept pressure on his Dominican opponent from the opening bell and landed consistently, particularly hard punches to the body.

Mendez had his moments, including a number of accurate left hooks to Akhmedov’s head and some body shots. He simply didn’t throw enough punches to give himself a chance to win.

All three judges had Akhmedov winning after eight rounds, 79-73, 79-73 and 77-75.

Akhmedov has now won twice since his disputed unanimous-decision loss to Barrios in September 2019. Mendez, a former junior lightweight titleholder, is now 0-2-2 in his last four fights and hasn’t had his hand raised since 2018.

In another preliminary bout, junior middleweight contender Carlos Adames (20-1, 16 KOs) stopped Alexis Salazar (23-4, 9 KOs) with a single left hook at 2:59 of Round 3 in a scheduled 10-rounder.