It had been talked about for a while as a done deal between the parties, and now it’s official: Japanese “Monster” Naoya Inoue will defend his four super bantamweight world titles against Uzbek challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev on September 14 at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
Akhmadaliev has been loudly calling for this fight for years—so much so that his promoter, Eddie Hearn, repeatedly accused Inoue of deliberately avoiding the Uzbek boxer in favor of more manageable and less dangerous opponents. Now, however, the 30-year-old from Central Asia has gotten what he wanted and will have to prove in the ring what he has long promised with words.
Inoue will undoubtedly be the favorite among boxing experts and bookmakers: the Japanese boxer has knocked out 27 of the 30 fighters who have dared face him as a pro, remains undefeated, and has secured a spot in the top three of every pound-for-pound ranking alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford.
Akhmadaliev is a physically strong fighter with decent punching power and a solid—if somewhat basic—technical skill set. His agility and consistency, however, are less impressive: the Uzbek tends to be a bit stiff in the upper body and fights in bursts, flaws that have occasionally caused him trouble.
It’s worth noting that Filipino boxer Marlon Tapales, who defeated Akhmadaliev on points in 2023, was later completely dismantled by Inoue, getting knocked out in ten rounds. A precedent that doesn’t bode well for the Uzbek challenger’s fans—but as everyone knows, the transitive property doesn’t always apply in boxing.