Inoue to defend undisputed 122-pound titles vs Akhmadaliev in Nagoya

Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed super bantamweight titles against Murodjon Akhmadaliev on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan, in a bout promoters and pundits are billing as one of the division's toughest tests. The fight follows a blockbuster weekend of boxing that includes Canelo Alvarez versus Terence Crawford, and is expected to draw international attention despite varying broadcast arrangements and early start times for Western viewers.

The 30 year old Inoue, unbeaten as a professional and widely known as The Monster, brings his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO 122 pound belts into the 17,000 seat IG Arena, which opened in July. Akhmadaliev, a 30 year old southpaw and former unified IBF and WBA junior featherweight champion, has pressed for this matchup for nearly two years and arrives on a three fight stoppage run since his 2023 defeat to Marlon Tapales. Promoter Eddie Hearn said the Uzbek contender's persistence helped secure the fight and described the matchup as a 50 50 proposition, calling it "the best fight in the division," comments he made to Ring Magazine. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum warned caution, saying Akhmadaliev "is a good fighter, but he...