Naoya Inoue was meant to cop his toughest test yet at super bantam. Instead, it was another night at the office. At IG Arena in Nagoya, the “Monster” (31-0, 27 KOs) put on a clinic against former unified champ Murodjon Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs), cruising to a unanimous decision: 118-110 twice and 117-111.
Five straight defenses of his undisputed crown now, and the bloke hasn’t lost a beat. For all the talk of danger, Akhmadaliev barely laid a glove on him.
Inoue Running the Show from the Get-Go
From round one, Inoue owned the real estate. The jab was stiff, the right hand was thudding, and the body work chipped away. Akhmadaliev looked rattled, marked up, and swinging at shadows. Every time he tried to load up, Inoue slipped, countered, and made him pay.
By the ninth, Inoue was landing combos for fun, even waving the Uzbek forward after belting him with a three-piece. Akhmadaliev’s only “moment” came in the last few seconds of the twelfth, when he landed a big right hook. Inoue just shrugged, coasted to the bell, and racked up another scalp.
“I wanted to finish him in the middle rounds, but I didn’t and stuck to my game plan,” Inoue said. Top Rank boss Bob Arum wasn’t holding back: “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.”
Medina’s Upset Bomb and Matsumoto’s Title Grab
The undercard gave punters a proper surprise. Mexico’s Christian Medina (26-4, 19 KOs) iced Yoshiki Takei (11-1, 9 KOs) in four to snatch the WBO bantamweight title. Dropped him early, then finished the job with a nasty flurry of uppercuts in round four. A fair dinkum boilover.
At minimumweight, Ryusei Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs) bagged the WBA ‘regular’ strap with a fifth-round technical decision over Yuni Takada (16-9-3, 6 KOs). He was cruising on the cards before a clash of heads ended things.
Matsumoto winning on a head clash is weak 💀 That ain’t how champs should be made! I wanted to see a real ending, not some early stoppage decision junk.
I think Bob Arum hyping Inoue so much cause he knows there ain’t nobody left to challenge him seriously 😒 They building him up but we need tougher fights next time!
People talking like this was close just don’t understand boxing 🤷♀️ If one guy lands everything and barely gets touched, it ain’t close no matter what round they’re in.
Inoue fights too smart and fast for them slow boxers from other countries 🥊 His footwork alone wins rounds before he even throws a punch! Akhmadaliev had no answer at all!
Akhmadaliev didn’t do nothing the whole fight except swing wild punches and hope for luck 😤. You call that world class? He looked scared half the time.
“Exactly man! If you gonna step in with a monster like Inoue you better bring more than hopes and prayers 😂.”
People need to stop pretending like Inoue’s fights are competitive. He’s leagues ahead of these guys and it’s getting boring now 😴. They need to find someone who can actually touch him.
True that! If the best they got is Akhmadaliev, then no one at super bantam can handle Inoue. Might as well move up already!
Everybody keeps saying Medina winning was some huge shock, but I saw it coming! Takei ain’t never been tested like that before, and when he got hit for real, he folded.
I don’t get how people say Akhmadaliev was a big threat. He ain’t fought anyone near Inoue’s level. Inoue made him look like an amateur. The fight wasn’t close at all.
Exactly! People hyped Akhmadaliev up too much just because he had belts before. But belts don’t mean nothing if you can’t back it up in the ring 💯.
I agree with you both! Folks act like being a champ once means you’re unbeatable. Inoue is just way better, plain and simple.