Naoya Inoue was sold as being in for his stiffest assignment at super bantamweight. Instead, fans got a one-sided clinic that felt more routine than riveting. At IG Arena in Nagoya, the “Monster” barely broke stride as he walked through Murodjon Akhmadaliev, banking a unanimous decision by scores of 118-110 twice and 117-111.
Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) has now stacked up five defenses of the undisputed crown he lifted in December 2023. This was supposed to be the night where a dangerous ex-unified champ pressed him. It never came close.
Was This Really the “Toughest Test”?
Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs) came in with pedigree and ambition, but Inoue had him in check from the opening rounds. The jab and right hand did all the heavy lifting, setting a pace that left Akhmadaliev looking beaten up before the halfway point. The Japanese star controlled center ring, slipped side to side, and countered with sharp left hooks that kept swelling the Uzbek’s face.
The ninth round summed it up — Inoue unleashed a crisp three-punch combo, then beckoned the exhausted challenger to come forward. It wasn’t bravado, it was confidence built on knowing the fight was locked in the bag.
Akhmadaliev’s Lone Spark and Inoue’s Shrug
To his credit, Akhmadaliev finally landed something meaningful in the dying seconds of the 12th — a wide right hook that made Inoue blink. That was it. Inoue brushed it off and coasted home to run his record in world title fights to 26-0.
Afterward, Inoue admitted, “I wanted to finish him in the middle rounds, but I didn’t and stuck to my game plan.” It was honesty wrapped in dominance.
Even promoter Bob Arum acknowledged the completeness of the performance: “We saw what a complete fighter Inoue has become. Not only a great puncher, but great strategy and footwork. That’s what the real all-time greats have, and this young man demonstrated it tonight.”
Undercard Delivers More Spark Than the Main
If the headliner felt like a controlled exercise, the undercard had more chaos. Mexico’s Christian Medina (26-4, 19 KOs) ripped the WBO bantamweight strap from Yoshiki Takei (11-1, 9 KOs) with a fourth-round TKO. Medina floored him early, then closed with a nasty run of uppercuts. That upset had more drama in four rounds than Inoue’s entire 12.
In the minimumweight fight, Ryusei Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs) picked up the vacant WBA “regular” title by technical decision over Yuni Takada (16-9-3, 6 KOs). A head clash ended matters in the fifth, with scores of 50-45 twice and 50-46.
