Naoya Inoue will look to retain undisputed status and underline his pound-for-pound claims when he tangles with Murodjon Akhmadaliev at Nagoya’s IG Arena.
Following Terence Crawford’s seismic win over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Las Vegas, super bantamweight king Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) can press his own case to be considered the best fighter on the planet.
‘The Monster’ is a four-weight, two-time undisputed champion and on a devastating run of 11 consecutive knockout wins.
Rio Olympic bronze medalist Akhmadaliev (14-1, 11 KOs) might prove to be his toughest test in the 122-pound division and has chased this fight for some time.
‘MJ’ lone career loss came in April 2023, when he dropped a disputed split decision to Marlon Tapales — the man Inoue defeated in his next fight to unify all the major super bantamweight belts.
The Sporting News will provide results, analysis, and highlights from the entire Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev fight card.
Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev results
- Naoya Inoue (c) vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev for the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine super bantamweight titles
- Christian Medina def. Yoshiki Takei (c) (TKO 4/12) to win the WBO bantamweight title
- Ryusei Matsumoto def. Yuni Takada (TD 5/12) for the vacant WBA ‘regular’ minimum title
- Taiga Imanaga def. Yudai Murakami (UD 10) to win the vacant Japanese lightweight title
- Shunpei Ohata def. Ei Go (TKO 4/8); super featherweights
- Toshiki Shimomachi def. Han Sol Lee (UD 8); super bantamweights
- Taisei Ayano def. Yusuke Nawa (TKO 2/4); bantamweights
Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev live updates, highlights from 2025 boxing card
Round 7: Akhmadaliev burrows Inoue against the ropes. Tries some body work himself and brings the uppercut through the middle. Inoue with some glorious footwork in centre ring and the ring to the body sinks into MJ once more. A mocking right hand on the run from the champ to finish the round.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 70-63 Akhmadaliev
Round 6: Akhmadaliev on the retreat now, loioking defensively sound and gets a winging counter right home. Then a nice right hook. Back comes Inoue, who looks to be planting his feet and digging brutally to MJ’s body.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 60-54 Akhmadaliev
Round 5: Inoue misses with the right hand but clatters home a left hook. That’s got to be dispiriting. MJ is taking the Monster’s shots well, another goes down to the body and a right hand on the bell. Yeah, taking them well, but there’s a worryingly increasing volume form the Uzbek’s point of view.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 50-45 Akhmadaliev
Round 4: Inoue whipping in head shots. He isn’t operating at full velocity. By his standard, it feel circumspect. But we’re seeing he’s a technically beautiful boxer, not simpy a wrecking machine. Both men land backhands and MJ is starting to look a little exposed upstairs as he guards against the body attack.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 40-36 Akhmadaliev
Round 3 MJ looking to score to the body. Gets one through to the body there. It punctuates the exchange but it’s another that falls Inoue’s way. He;’s keeping his left hand nice and high after the recent mishaps The champ glares at his foe at the bell.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 30-27 Akhmadaliev
Round 2: Akhmadaliev is going to have to bring some of his fabled timing to bear here because the speed differential doesn’t look pretty. One-two from Inoue, finishing to the body. MJ tries a left hook but but Inoue ducks under and spins away.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 20-18 Akhmadaliev
Round 1: Inoue gets Akhmadaliev’s attention early with a solid jab. The champion focusing on that explosive lead hand, so far. Getting in and out and measuring MJ. Now the overhand right. Akhmadaliev tried to rush Inoue back towards the neutral corner but gets cracked with a left hook.
SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 10-9 Akhmadaliev
7:09 a.m. ET: We’ve had the national anthems and Jimmy Lennon Jr. is going through the introductions. We’re going round-by-round…
7:04 a.m. ET: Inoue on the rank looking all business. The plan is mapped out for the P4P great. Win this one and it’s David Picasso at the end of the year before a Tokyo Dome megafight with Junto Nakatani in 2026. But MJ is a serious hurdle to negotiate and boxing is famed for making a mess of the best-laid plans.
7:02 a.m. ET: Here comes Akhmadaliev. the Uzbek fighter in a military beret on his way into the ring. He looks pretty exuberant, certainly more so than any other Inoue opponent on this walk that I can think of. MJ has accused Inoue of ducking him, which definitely feels somewhat bold.
6:48 a.m. ET: We might be a little further away than expected, given MJ was just getting gloved up in his dressing room. You’d expect he’ll want a warm-up on the pads before making his ringwalk.
6:45 a.m. ET: So the main event is moments away, and we could be in for something special. Naoyo Inoue is a phenomenon. A man of his size doesn’t really have any right to be winning world titles at super bantamweight, never mind cleaning out the division. But the 32-year-old’s otherworldly power has transferred up the divisions. He might not be getting the job done as quickly as he used t,o but his win over Ramon Cardenas was his 11th consecutive stoppage win.
However, Cardenas put Inoue onto the seat of his trunks. The big-punching Luis Nery did too. Inoue has to put himself in the line of fire against naturally bigger men in this weight class and former amateur standout Akhmadaliev will fancy his chances of putting the champion’s resistance to the test.
Christian Medina knocks out Yoshiki Takei to win the WBO bantamweight title
What a sensation! Takei might have felt he had his feet back under him going into round four, but Medina was in no mood to let him off the hook. The champ found himself pinned in the neutral corner with no escape. He wilted under a volley of uppercuts and the referee stepped in to save him. A little antidote to boxing-mad Guadalajara. Sensational performance from Medina to get the upset win.
MEDINA HAS DONE IT 🇲🇽
Mexico has a new world champion! pic.twitter.com/ky6iNvsFE6
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 14, 2025
6:11 a.m. ET: We’re through three rounds and Takei, having taken more significant punishment in the second, stabilised himself in the previous session. Not to the extent he won the round, meaning he’s already a fair way behind. But he at least has a foothold after that nightmare start.
6:02 a.m. ET: HUGE KNOCKDOWN FROM MEDINA IN ROUND ONE! Takei was wary of the left hook, circling away and gets drilled by a big overhand right. The champion is down hard. He manages to get out of the round. Will he recover?
DOWN GOES TAKEI.
Christian Medina came out swinging 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aHWeVng9DQ
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 14, 2025
5:50 a.m. ET: Medina on his way to the ring now to a traditional Mexican soundtrack. He’s spent some time training in Japan previously and gets a respectfully warm ovation from the crowd, who are now on their feet for Takei. This is the 29-year-old’s third defence of his WBO crown.
5:30 a.m. ET: The challenger in our forthcoming co-feature for the WBO bantamweight title is Christian Medina. The Guadalajara native will be looking to restore local pride after Canelo’s defeat to Terence Crawford a few hours ago. Why not recap how that one unfolded HERE.
Ryusei Matsumoto defeats Yuni Takada via technical decision
Matsumoto gets the decision, there was little doubt about that given the overall flow of the action. Understandably he looks crestfallen and concerned over Takada’s condition. No real appetite at all to celebrate with his new WBA bauble. Matsumoto moves to 7-0 as a professional.
4:58 a.m. ET: Yikes! Drama here as the fighters come together in a huge clash of heads. Takada is down heavily from it and appears to be badly cut. The referee waves the fight off and Takada is being tended to by medical staff in the ring. Nasty. We’ve had four completed rounds so should go to the cards.
4:45 a.m. ET: We’re underway in the minimumweight showdown between Yuni Takada and Ryusei Matsumoto. The WBA ‘regular’ version of the world title is on the line. Takada into his work in round two with a meaty right hook, although Matsumoto has looked the sharper overall.
4:25 a.m. ET: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the undisputed super bantamweight showdown between Naoya Inoue and Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
MORE INOUE-MJ NEWS:
Who won the Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Read our full report on the undispurted super bantamweight clash between Naoya Inoue and Murodjon Akhmadaliev HERE.
Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev tune-in info
- Date: Sunday, September 14
- Location: IG Arena — Nagoya, Japan
- Time: 4:15 a.m. ET | 1:15 a.m. PT | 9:15 a.m. BST | 8:15 p.m. AEST
- Main event start time (approx.): 6:40 a.m. ET | 3:40 a.m. PT | 11:40 a.m. BST | 9:40 p.m. AEST
- How to watch: Facebook
Promoter Top Rank is streaming the fight free of charge in the UK and the US on its Facebook channel
