RESULTS/PHOTOS: Naoya Inoue Dominates Murodjon Akhmadaliev

Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev

Inoue defends his undisputed super bantamweight title for the fifth time

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(Courtesy: Naoki Fukuda)

NAGOYA, Japan (Sept. 14, 2025) — Naoya Inoue was supposed to be given the toughest test of his super bantamweight reign. In the end, it was just another dominant night at the office.

Inoue defended his undisputed crown Sunday with a one-sided unanimous decision (118-110 2x and 117-111) over former unified champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev at IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs), a four-division world champion, now has five defenses of the undisputed crown he won in December 2023. He continued that dominance over Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs), controlling the first half of the fight with his jab and straight right hands to the head and body.

Inoue took charge of the center of the ring, dipping side to side and landing counter left hooks. The consistent, accurate punching left Akhmadaliev's face marked up and swollen. In the ninth round, Inoue landed a three-punch combo and beckoned his fatigued foe to come forward. 

Akhmadaliev had a brief moment in the final seconds of the 12th round, landing a sweeping right hook that got Inoue's attention. Inoue shrugged off the momentary defensive lapse and coasted to victory, increasing his record in world title fights to 26-0. 

"I wanted to finish him in the middle rounds, but I didn’t and stuck to my game plan," Inoue said.

Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said, "We saw what a complete fighter Inoue has become. Not only a great puncher, but great strategy and footwork. That’s what the real all-time greats have, and this young man demonstrated it tonight."

Bantamweight: Mexico's Christian Medina (26-4, 19 KOs) dethroned Yoshiki Takei (11-1, 9 KOs) by fourth-round TKO to win the WBO world title. Medina dropped Takei in the opening round, then finished him off with a flurry of uppercuts in the fourth to pull off the major upset.

Minimumweight: Ryusei Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs) tallied a fifth-round technical decision over Yuni Takada (16-9-3, 6 KOs) to win the WBA 'regular' title by scores 50-45 2x and 50-46. The fight was stopped at 1:26 after an accidental headbutt dropped Takada to the canvas and left him unable to continue.