Murodjon Akhmadaliev: If Inoue Doesn’t Want To Fight Me, Then Vacate Title And Stop Calling My Name

The timing seemed perfect for a change.

Murodjon Akhmadaliev ended his 2023 campaign with the belief that he was next in line for the undisputed crown. An eighth round knockout of Kevin Gonzalez in their Dec. 16 WBa title eliminator was supposed to guarantee that opportunity. Getting in that fight last December was supposed to mean that he could hit the ground running in 2024.

All that’s come instead is the waiting game.

“My hands are itching to get back in the ring,” Akhmadaliev told The Ring as translated by Alik Frolov. “Whoever will be my next opponent, all we hope is that it’s for the world title.”

The longtime hope for Akhmadaliev (12-1, 7 knockouts) is for Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) to have been that opponent. It makes sense; Inoue—No. 2 pound-for-pound—holds The Ring 122 pound championship and all four major titles with it.

For now, rumors continue to swirl that Inoue will instead next face IBF mandatory Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) on Christmas Eve in Tokyo.

Akhmadaliev—No. 2 at 122 by The Ring—is next in line for the WBA belt he previously held for more than three years. The 2016 Olympic Silver medalist was the unified WBA/IBF titlist until his reign ended versus Marlon Tapales (39-4, 20 KOs) last April in San Antonio.

Tapales was a mandatory challenger at the time, one of three that Akhmadaliev was forced to face in a span of two years. The only voluntary defense he was afforded came by accident. He was due to face Ronny Rios in Nov. 2021, only for Rios to test positive for Covid.

Akhmadaliev, promoted by Matchroom and World of Boxing, and managed by Vadim Kornilov, instead faced and defeated late sub Jose Velasquez.

Rios eventually made his way into the title picture as the WBA mandatory. That was followed by Tapales, who faced Akhmadaliev as the IBF mandatory.

Inoue has since faced Tapales for the undisputed crown. After that was former two-division titlist Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) as the WBC mandatory in May. According to the sanctioning body rotation, the WBA should be back in front, which would leave Akhmadaliev as next in line.

In fact, the WBA even ordered the fight earlier this year after Inoue’s knockout win over Nery. The fight never came about, as Inoue was instead permitted to face former titleholder TJ Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) in a voluntary defense.

“For this guy, it’s different,” Akhmadaliev insisted of the different rules being applied to Inoue’s reign. “I don’t know if he’s scared, if it’s politics or whatever. But I don’t care. The only fight at 122 that makes sense is versus me. So if Inoue doesn’t want to fight me, then vacate the title and stop calling my name.

“I won’t back down. We are going to push until the end to have the rules enforced. I don’t want to have to settle for the interim title. We want to fight Naoya Inoue for the real title. If he has a headache or whatever other excuse, then he can go be the interim champion. You can call him the vacation champion or whatever it is (Champion in Recess).”

WBA representatives have yet to comment on the matter.

Goodman—No. 3 at 122 by The Ring—has been the IBF mandatory since a win over Ra’eese Aleem last June. To his credit, he has remained active with four stay-busy fights since he earned that designation.

However, all have come versus pedestrian opposition and also saw Goodman bend the knee after boldly calling out of Inoue earlier this spring. An injury was cited as the reason he needed to wait until December, though Inoue’s team was fine to accommodate the request.

It should have opened a path for Akhmadaliev, who had to bail from a planned July bout when the WBA ordered his bout versus Inoue. Instead, it was just another road block in a career filled with start-and-stops.

“In the past, there were injuries and illness that slowed us down. This time, the only hold up is Inoue,” noted Amkhadaliev. “We were supposed to be back in the ring mid-July. Then the mandatory was ordered and that he was supposed to fight me in September. So I had to pull out of that fight to remain in line to honor my mandatory position. The priority was to challenge for the world title.

“The winner of Inoue-Tapales was supposed to fight me next. So, he chose the WBC mandatory first (Luis Nery). Then he chose Doheny. Now it sounds like he’s choosing somebody else. At this point, it doesn’t make sense.”

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