Undefeated, undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue is one of the greatest boxers in the four-belt era, having defeated some of the biggest names in and around his weight class. However, even the Japanese ‘Monster’ can’t dodge the ‘ducking’ allegations, especially after this super bantam boxer from Uzbekistan clinched his recent victory.

If you didn’t know, 31-year-old Inoue was supposed to lock horns with Australia’s Sam Goodman on December 24th in Tokyo. However, due to an injury in training the bout is now pushed back to January 24th at the Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. In the meantime, the former WBA and IBF super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev secured a new title.

30-year-old Akhmadaliev took on Mexico’s Ricardo Espinoza Franco for the interim WBA belt yesterday in Monte Carlo. It didn’t take long for the Uzbek boxer to get rid of his Mexican dance partner, knocking him out in the third round of the fight. However, the thing is, Akhmadaliev has long been Inoue’s WBA mandatory, and Inoue is still due to fight. 

So, after his latest win, Akhmadaliev’s promoter Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn took the mic to expose Inoue for ducking the Uzbek. “He’s not been called once, he’s been called twice by the WBA,” Hearn began. “The first time they paid for an exception to Duck ‘MJ.’ The second time was cast iron in writing he had to fight him.”

“They found a way to avoid it again,” Hearn added during the interview. “Naoya Inoue is a pound-for-pound legend. We respect him. He’s an unbelievable fighter. But there’s one thing he hasn’t got—and that’s Uzbek power.” However, Hearn’s callouts to make the fight happen didn’t end there, he later hopped on social media platform X to double down on his claims.

“He’s beating Inoue! Log it! @AkhmadalievMj Uzbek Power,” Hearn wrote. Even Akhmadaliev was on board with the potential fight, as he called out Inoue for a fight himself. 

Murodjon Akhmadaliev calls out Naoya Inoue

After making quick work of Ricardo Espinoza, Akhmadaliev, who held the IBF and WBA titles between 2020 and 2023 before losing them to Marlon Tapales, didn’t mince his words. During the post-fight in-ring interview, he asked Inoue for justification if he didn’t want to fight him. “If he don’t wanna fight me, he just needs to explain,” Akhmadaliev said through a translator. 

Notably, Inoue has already defeated Marlon Tapales in December 2023 to become undisputed in the division and is currently slated to defend his titles for the third time. Regardless, Akhmadaliev highlighted that he always followed the rules from the sanctioning bodies and Inoue needs to do the same. 

“When I was the champion, I followed the rules. And he should follow the rules as well,” he said, noting in English, “I’m ready, let’s go Inoue!”

That said, it appears interim WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev is craving a shot at Inoue’s undisputed status. However, that potential fight will have to wait for now, as Inoue prepares for his title defense against Goodman. Do you think Naoya Inoue is ducking Akhmadaliev?