Naoya Inoue hit back at promoter Eddie Hearn and the fans he defends from his WBA No.1 contender Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Japanese star Naoya feels there is no pressing need for him to defend his four super bantamweight titles against Murodjon, especially after his loss a year ago to one of his victims, Marlon Tapales, on April 8, 2023.
Hearn appeared angry last Saturday night as he urged Naoya to defend against Akhmadaliev next after the 2016 Olympian scored a third-round knockout victory over his promoted opponent Ricardo Espinoza (30-30) at the Salle des Étoiles. 5, 25 KOs). Monte Carlo, Monaco.
During the post-fight interview, Matchroom promoter Hearn was wagging his finger, lecturing Inoue and babbling “Uzbek power” and other nonsense to argue that the Japanese star had to defend himself against Akhmadalyev. Of course, it’s not Naoya’s fault that he failed in the fight against Tapales. If Murodjon had done what he was supposed to do against Tapales, there would have been no problem.
The “Zero Need” remark
The 27-year-old Espinoza was not a top opponent and was used to make Akhmadaliev look like pure 24-karat gold, which he did. Inoue wasn’t fooled. He saw the fight for what it was and refused to give in to it, volunteering to give Hearn-promoted former IBF and WBA 122-pound champion Akhmadaliev the fight he demanded .
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) says that “zero need” for him to fight Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) for the following reasons:
- Lost to Marlon Tapales
- Akhmadaliev needs to maintain his value
- Have to wait
- Naoya already has a fight scheduled against Sam Goodman
Inoue defends his undisputed super bantamweight championship against No. 1 IBF and No. 1 WBO contender Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs). Inoue was originally scheduled to fight Goodman at this venue on December 24, but the Australian suffered a cut to his right eye in his final sparring session. The fight had to be postponed.
“Why do I have to run away from someone who lost to Tapales? 🤷♂️ There is no reason at all… If you want to fight, keep the “value” of winning and wait!! Now I’m fully focused on the Goodman fight. @AkhmadalievMj,” Naoya Inoue continued Xand gives his reasons for canceling the fight against his WBA No. 1 contender
