Naoya Inoue fired back at promoter Eddie Hearn and the fans he is running away from his #1 WBA contender, Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Japanese star Naoya feels there is no pressing need for him to defend his four super bantamweight titles against Murodjon, especially with his loss a year ago to one of his victims, Marlon Tapales, on April 8, 2023.
Hearn seemed furious last Saturday night, calling out Naoya to defend against Akhmadaliev following the 2016 Olympian’s third-round knockout victory over draft opponent Ricardo Espinoza (30-5, 25 KOs) at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco.
During the post-fight interview, Matchroom promoter Hearn wagged his finger, lectured Inoue and talked about it. “Uzbek Power” and other nonsense to argue that the Japanese star had to defend against Akhmadaliev. Of course, it’s not Naoya’s fault that he failed in his battle against Tapales. If Murodjon had done what he had to do against Tapales, there would not have been a problem.
The “Zero Need” comment
Espinoza, 27, was not a top opponent, and he was brought in to make Akhmadaliev look like pure 24kt gold, which he did. Inoue was not fooled. He saw the fight for what it was and wasn’t going to come out, volunteering to give former IBF and WBA 122-lb champion Akhmadaliev the fight he demanded.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) says there is “no need” for him to fight Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) for these reasons:
- Lost to Marlon Tapales
- Akhmadaliev must retain value
- Have to wait
- Naoya already has a fight scheduled against Sam Goodman
Inoue defends his undisputed super bantamweight championship against #1 IBF and #1 WBO contender Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) next month on January 24 at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokoyo, Japan. Inoue was originally supposed to fight Goodman at that venue on December 24, but the Aussie suffered a cut over his right eye in his last sparring session. The fight had to be postponed.
“Why should I run away from someone who lost to Tapales? 🤷♂️ There is no need for that…If you want to fight, keep the “value” of winning and wait!! Now I am fully focused on the Goodman fight. @AkhmadalievMj,” said Naoya Inoue Xand gives his reasons for turning down a fight against his #1 WBA contender
