Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Saudi-backed boxer retains spot on Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford undercard with first stoppage win

Originally posted on Bloody Knockout | By Harvey Burton | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 1:40 PM ET

The Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte card in Saudi Arabia started with a lightweight clash involving a Saudi-backed fighter trained by a legend.

Moses Itauma is set to face Dillian Whyte in a major make-or-break fight for his career. Itauma hopes to prove himself as a world-level heavyweight with a dominant win over ‘The Bodysnatcher’, whilst Whyte hopes to let the boxing world know he’s not done yet.

On the undercard, Filip Hrgovic vows to take David Adeleye’s soul, and Britain’s only current world champion, Nick Ball, will face Sam Goodman in defense of his world title.

Also on the card, Raymond Ford takes on Abraham Nova, but not before one Saudi-backed fighter trained by Gennady Golovkin‘s former coach picked up his first stoppage win.

Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

‘Mighty’ Mohammed Alakel scores first stoppage win to open the card

In the first bout of the card, 4-0 Mohammad Alakel faced 3-6 Yumnam Santosh Singh.

Alakel has been backed by the Saudis, featuring on both Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol cards, Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury‘s bill, and most recently, Canelo vs William Scull.

It was only on this card though, that Alakel has set the tone, scoring his first stoppage win over Santosh.

Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

With the win, Alakel has retained his position on the Canelo vs Terence Crawford card, which will see him face 5-2-1 John Ornelas.

Alakel has recently moved to train under the guidance of Abel Sanchez, the former coach of ‘Triple G’ Gennady Golovkin.

It seems the Saudi-backed fighter will be able to continue featuring on the biggest cards in boxing after the biggest win of his career to date.

Mohammed Alakel left a world-class trainer ahead of first KO win

In his first few fights, Alakel trained under the wing of Joe Gallagher, the world-class trainer who steered the careers of the Smith brothers, Callum and Liam.