Hearn Fumes As Inoue Denies Akhmadaliev Fight, Cites Tapales Loss

Naoya Inoue hit back at promoter Eddie Hearn and the fans running on his WBA #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 with his loss a year ago against one of his victims, Marlon Tapales, on April 8, 2023 .

Hearn appeared to be angry on Saturday night, calling out Naoya for defending against Akhmadaliev following the 2016 Olympian’s knockout victory over rival Ricardo Espinoza (30-5, 25 KOs) at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

During the post-fight interview, Matchroom promoter Hearn waggled his finger, lecturing Inoue, talking about “Uzbek Power” and other nonsense to argue that the Japanese star needed to defend against Akhmadaliev. Of course, it’s not Naoya’s fault that he failed in his fight against Tapales. If Murodjon had done what he had to do against Tapales, there would have been no problem.

The “Need Zero” comment.

Espinoza, 27, was not a top-tier opponent, and was brought in to make Akhmadaliev look like pure 24k gold, which he did. Inoue was not fooled. He saw the fight for what it was and wasn’t going to finish, volunteering to give the Hearn-promoted former IBF and WBA 122-pound champion Akhmadaliev the fight he was asking for.

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) says there is “zero need” to fight Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) for these reasons:

1. Lost to Marlon Tapales
2. Akhmadaliev must maintain his courage
3. You have to wait
4. Naoya already has a fight scheduled against Sam Goodman

Inoue will defend his undisputed Super Bantamweight Championship against #1 IBF and #1 WBO Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) next month on January 24 at the Ariake Arena, Koto- Ku, in Tokoyo, Japan. Inoue was originally scheduled to fight Goodman on December 24 at this venue, but the Australian suffered a cut over his right eye in his last bout. The fight had to be postponed.

“Why should I run away from someone who lost to Tapales? 🤷‍♂️ There is no need… If you want to fight, keep the “courage” to win and wait!! Now I’m totally focused on Goodman’s fight. @AkhmadalievMj,” said Naoya Inoue Xgiving his reasons for turning away a fight against his #1 WBA contender