Japan’s Naoya Inoue poses for photographs following a press conference ahead of his September 14 boxing super bantamweight title fight with Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev, in Tokyo on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP) (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Naoya Inoue, one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, returns to the ring on Sunday, September 14, to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Inoue, who sports a perfect 30-0-0 record, puts his undisputed junior featherweight title on the line against his 14-1-0 opponent at IG Arena in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Two additional title fights take place on the boxing card. Below, we look at the full Inoue vs. Akhmadaliev boxing fight card.
Naoya Inoue Vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev Full Fight Card
Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev – 12 rounds, undisputed junior featherweight championship
Yoshiki Takei vs. Christian Medina – 12 rounds, WBO bantamweight title
Yuni Takada vs. Ryusei Matsumoto – 12 rounds, vacant WBA “regular” strawweight title
Yudai Murakami vs. Taiga Imanaga – 10 rounds, lightweight
Ei Go vs. Shunpei Ohata – 8 rounds, junior lightweight
Toshiki Shimomachi vs. Han Sol Lee – 8 rounds, junior featherweight
Taisei Ayano vs. Yusuke Nawa – 4 rounds, bantamweight
Naoya Inoue Vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 04: Undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue (L) greets Ramon Cardenas after their title fight at T-Mobile Arena on May 04, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Inoue retained his titles with an eighth-round TKO. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
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Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) won his first major title in April 2014 when he knocked out Adrián Hernández to claim the WBC light flyweight title. Since then, the 32-year-old has only stepped into the boxing ring when a title is on the line. He is unbeaten in those title fights, racking up a 24-0 record with 22 knockouts in those title fights.
Over his career, Inoue won and defended the WBO junior bantamweight title seven times before moving to bantamweight for nine bouts. During that run from May 2018 to December 2022, Inoue won the WBA, IBF, and WBC titles. In his final fight at bantamweight, Inoue knocked out Paul Butler to win the WBO bantamweight crown and earn undisputed champion status in the 118-pound division.
In July 2023, Inoue moved up to junior featherweight, claiming the WBC and WBO belts in his first fight in his new weight division. He accomplished that feat by earning an eighth-round TKO over Stephen Fulton. Then, in December 2023, he became the undisputed 122-pound champion with a 10th-round knockout win over Marlon Tapales.
Since his win over Tapales, Inoue has defended his title three more times, defeating Luis Nery, TJ Doheny, and most recently, Kim Ye-joon by knockout.
In his most recent outing, his first fight in America since 2021, Inoue scored an eighth-round TKO victory over Ramon Cardenas. That contest took place in May 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The man known as “The Monster” is the No. 2 ranked fighter in the ESPN boxing rankings.
GUADALAJARA, MEXICO – MAY 30: Murodjon Akhmadaliev celebrates after winning his super bantamweight fight against Luis Castillo at Domo Alcalde on May 30, 2025 in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)
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Murodjon Akhmadaliev (14-1 11 KOs) is the No. 3 ranked fighter in the ESPN junior featherweight rankings.
The 30-year-old from Uzbekistan won the WBA and IBF junior featherweight titles in January 2020 with a split decision victory over Daniel Roman. He defended those belts three times between April 2021 and June 2022 with wins over Ryosuke Iwasa, Jose Velasquez and Ronny Rios.
Akhmadaliev’s title reign ended in April 2023 when Marlon Tapales took a split decision from him in San Antonio, Texas.
Akhmadaliev is 3-0 since that setback with TKO wins over Kevin Gonzalez, Ricardo Espinoza Franco, and Luis Castillo. Akhmadaliev’s most recent fight was his eighth-round finish of Castillo in May.
Murodjon Akhmadaliev On Naoya Inoue
GUADALAJARA, MEXICO – MAY 30: Murodjon Akhmadaliev celebrates with his trainer Antonio Diaz and announcer David Diamante after winning his super bantamweight fight against Luis Castillo at Domo Alcalde on May 30, 2025 in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)
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“I am finally getting the opportunity to fight Inoue,” he told The Ring. “I have worked very hard to be in this position, and I will show the best version of myself on fight night.
“I feel like I will be in the best shape of my career heading into this fight. I can hurt anyone with my punches, and I believe in my power, and I can deliver it, too.
“He’s not an exception. My job is to beat him, and I will do everything in my power to do that. I have the whole package to compete at the highest levels in any department.
“I will prove to the world that I belong, and I’m the best. He’s the full package and has all of the skills, but so do I. The ring will show everything. It never lies.”
“He was untouchable at the lower weights, and I think his struggles against Nery and Cardenas are due to the weight of 122 pounds,” Akhmadaliev added. “He’s fighting tougher and bigger guys. That gives him issues. He’s dealing with more adversity at 122 pounds, and this is my weight class.
“If either one of us gets caught with a clean punch, the knockout will be there. If we exchange and fight in an all-in fight, then the knockout is definitely going to happen.”
Naoya Inoue On Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Japan’s Naoya Inoue speaks during a press conference ahead of his September 14 boxing super bantamweight title fight with Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev, in Tokyo on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP) (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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“I definitely don’t think I’m inferior in terms of overall strength. The only thing you could say that is intimidating about Akhmadaliev is his physicality and power,” said Inoue of his opponent.
The theme I have in mind for this fight is to win in whatever way I can. I’m not insisting that I win by KO, my only goal is to win,” the champ added.
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We will have more on the Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev fight card as fight night approaches, including odds, picks, predictions and more
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2025/09/07/naoya-inoue-vs-murodjon-akhmadaliev-full-fight-card/
