Naoya Inoue has hit back at promoter Eddie Hearn and fans as he runs away from his WBA No. 1 contender, Murodjon Akhmadaliyev. Japanese star Naoya feels there is no urgent need for him to defend his four super bantamweight titles against Murudjon, especially with his loss a year ago to one of his victims, Marlon Tapales, on April 8, 2023.
Hearn looked like he was in a rage last Saturday night, as he called out Naoya to defend against Akhmadaliyev next after the 2016 Olympian's third-round knockout win over his opponent Ricardo Espinosa (30-5, 25 KOs) at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco .
During the post-fight interview, Hearn, Matchroom's promoter, waggled his finger as he lectured Inoue, gossiping about it. “Uzbek power” And other nonsense to say that the Japanese star needs to defend against Akhmadaliyev. Of course, it's not Naoya's fault that he failed in his fight against Tapales. If Morodjon had done what he was supposed to do against Tapales, there would have been no problem.
Note “zero need”.
Espinoza, 27, was not a top-tier competitor, and was brought in to make Akhmadaliyev look like solid 24-karat gold, which he did. Inoue was not fooled. He saw the struggle for what it was and wasn't going to give up, volunteering to give Akhmadaliyev, the former IBF and WBA 122-pound champion, promoted by Hearn, the fight he was demanding.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KO) says there is a ““Zero need” For him to fight Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) for these reasons:
- He lost to Marlon Tabales
- Akhmadaliyev needs to maintain his value
- Must wait
- Naoya already has a fight scheduled against Sam Goodman
Inoue defends his undisputed super bantamweight title against IBF and WBO No. 1 contender Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) next month on January 24 at Ariake Arena, Koto-ku, in Tokuyo, Japan. Inoue was originally supposed to fight Goodman on December 24 at that location, but the Australian suffered a cut over his right eye in his last sparring session. The battle had to be postponed.
“Why should I run away from someone who lost to Tapales? 🤷♂️ There's no need for that… If you want to fight, keep the 'value' of winning and wait!! Now I'm fully focused on the Goodman fight. @AkhmadalievMj,” said Naoya Inoue Xexplaining his reasons for deviating from the fight against his No. 1 WBA contender
