Murodjon Akhmadaliev puts more pressure on Naoya Inoue to fight him: 'I won't give in'

Murodjon Akhmadaliev, a former WBA super bantamweight champion and current WBA mandatory contender, is putting even more pressure on Japanese superstar and reigning pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue to face him in the ring. Inoue, who holds all the gold at 122 pounds, will reportedly face IBF mandatory Sam Goodman next (possibly on Christmas Eve) – although in the rotation system a WBA mandatory defense is due, not an IBF defense.

And “MJ,” as Akhmadaliev is called (damn, his name is actually pretty hard to pronounce), is not happy. Speaking to RingTV.com, the former champion from Uzbekistan said he wasn't sure whether Inoue was afraid of him or whether boxing politics (the great Lennox Lewis called them “politricks”) were fearing him and preventing him from taking his shot get from “The Monster”.

Akhmadaliev, 12-1(7) and a southpaw, was expected to face Inoue earlier this year at 28-0(25); The WBA ordered the fight. However, Inoue was instead allowed to launch a voluntary defense against TJ Doheny, who Inoue stopped with relative ease in September. “MJ” is adamant that he would give Inoue a much tougher time.

“It’s different for this guy,” Akhmadaliev said, referring to Inoue. “I don’t know if he’s scared, whether it’s about politics or whatever. But I don't care. The only fight at 122 that makes sense is against me. So if Inoue doesn't want to fight me, then drop the title and stop calling my name. I won't give in. We will keep pushing until the rules are enforced. I don't want to have to be satisfied with the subtitle. If he has a headache or some other excuse, he can become interim champion.”

Akhmadaliev, beaten by a close, controversial decision only by Marlon Tapales, says he should have fought the winner of the Inoue-Tapales fight (Inoue won by stoppage in December 2023).

“The winner of Inoue-Tapales should fight me next,” he said. “So he chose the WBC competitive match first (Inoue recovered from a knockdown to stop Luis Nery in May this year). Then he chose Doheny. It sounds like he's choosing someone else. It doesn’t make sense at this point.”

For so many of us, the very idea that the masterful and all-conquering Inoue is unwilling to fight anyone makes no sense. But until “MJ” gets his chance, he will continue to believe.

Akhmadaliev bounced back from his loss to Tapales in April 2023 to stop Kevin Gonzalez in December last year, the fight a WBA eliminator. Now the 29-year-old says to Ring: “I'm itching to get back in the ring.” But who will be the other man in the ring with Akhmadaliev when he returns?