Bouadla made his professional debut on 15 October 2003, scoring a second-round corner retirement over Rachid Mokhtari.
On 4 June 2011, he faced veteran former world champion Mikkel Kessler for the European super-middleweight title, but was stopped in six rounds.
[2] The following year, on 15 December, Bouadla fought for his first world title against WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, who won via eighth-round stoppage.
[3] 2013 and early 2014 saw Bouadla pick up four straight wins, each a six-round points decision.
Another chance at a world championship—this time the WBA interim middleweight title—came on 9 August 2014, against undefeated prospect Dmitry Chudinov.