Naoya Inoue has stuck to his outlined plan for the year.
A showdown with Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev is up next for the reigning undisputed junior featherweight champion, provided he handles present-day business. With a win over Ramon Cardenas this Sunday, Inoue, 29-0 (26 KOs), and Akhmadaliev will then meet in a WBA title consolidation bout.
“Done deal, finally,” Eddie Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing co-promotes Akhmadaliev along with World of Boxing, revealed on Thursday. “Uzbek Power vs. The Monster. Best fight in the division.”
Further details were not provided by Hearn or anyone else directly involved in the fight. However, BoxingScene has received confirmation that it will take place on September 14 in Tokyo.
Inoue first attempts his fourth defense of the undisputed junior featherweight crown, and fifth overall defense of the WBC and WBO belts, against San Antonio’s Cardenas, 26-1 (15 KOs). ESPN will air their scheduled 12 -round championship contest this Sunday from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Inoue-Akhmadaliev remains on course for the timeline set out by Inoue and promoter Hideyuki Ohashi, a former two-time strawweight champion before he founded Ohashi Boxing Gym (Ohashi Promotions). The ambitious plan calls for a minimum of three fights in 2025, with hopes of a fourth in December.
Inoue began the year with a fourth-round knockout of South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim, 21-3-2, (13 KOs), on January 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Kim was a late replacement for Sam Goodman, Inoue’s IBF mandatory challenger, who suffered two injuries in less than a month and thus lost out on the chance to cash in his lottery ticket.
The fact that Inoue sought to first face Goodman never sat well with Akhmadaliev, 13-1 (10 KOs), the current interim WBA junior featherweight titlist.
The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist has been Inoue’s mandatory since a Dec. 2023 knockout win over Kevin Gonzalez in Glendale, Arizona. Inoue-Akhmadaliev was twice ordered by the WBA in 2024.
On both occasions, concessions were made for Inoue to face another opponent.
Inoue was first permitted to face TJ Doheny in a voluntary title defense, despite the fact that his ordered mandatory with Akhmadaliev was due to head to a purse bid hearing. Their clash last September saw Inoue prevail via seventh-round knockout, but his team never bothered to revisit plans to face the Uzbek southpaw.
A consolation prize was offered to Akhmadaliev in the form of an interim title fight. He made the most of it, as he comprehensively beat Ricardo Espinoza last Dec. 14 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Inoue was initially due to face Goodman 10 days later, but the event was postponed by exactly one month due to a cut suffered by the unbeaten Aussie. A repeat occurrence just a few weeks later prompted Inoue to proceed with the voluntary defense against Kim, along with aggressive plans to become the most active male champion in the sport with four potential fights in 2025.
Akhmadaliev’s name was mentioned as part of that plan, though not the primary target. It led to another round of interviews conducted by Hearn to keep his fighter’s name in the spotlight, even if not in the ring.
“I’ve seen the interviews that Eddie held after [Inoue’s] last fight,” Akhmadaliev previously told BoxingScene. “It’s not like I spend all my time online, but I heard what he said and he is my co-promoter for a reason. He does a great job promoting my name.”
Akhmadaliev has not fought since his abovementioned win over Espinoza. There was loose talk of his landing on this weekend’s undercard, though such rumors were immediately dismissed.
Instead, the 30-year-old southpaw will become the sport’s most interested observer, given what’s at stake for his immediate future.
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