After nearly two years of lobbying, Murodjon “M.J.” Akhmadaliev finally has the date he craved. On 14 September in Nagoya, the former unified 122-pound king will challenge Naoya Inoue for the undisputed junior-featherweight crown - an assignment he views as the opportunity of a lifetime.
Speaking from Joel Diaz’s Indio gym, Akhmadaliev acknowledged that legal pressure and persistence were required to land the bout, but insisted he never doubted the payoff. “I’m lucky to get this chance to fight for all the belts,” he said while noting Diaz’s team has fresh intel after guiding Ramon Cardenas to an early knock-down of Inoue in May.
Akhmadaliev’s résumé includes winning two titles in just his eighth professional outing and rebounding from a disputed split-decision loss to Marlon Tapales with three successive stoppages. Now 14-1 (11 KOs) and owning the WBA interim strap, the Uzbek southpaw dismisses the “Monster” mystique surrounding Inoue, 30-0 (27 KOs). “There are no monsters in boxing,” he remarked. “On fight night the ring never lies - we’ll see who is M.J. and who is the monster.”
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Road trips hold no fear for Akhmadaliev, who fought more than 200 amateur bouts abroad and has boxed professionally in Mexico, Puerto Rico, China and the United States. Training alongside countrymen Israil Madrimov and Bektemir Melikuziev, plus confidant Dmitry Bivol, he says the Indio camp provides all the support he needs to step into “enemy territory” again.
While Inoue’s team are already mapping future dates against Alan David Picasso and Junto Nakatani, Akhmadaliev remains unmoved. “My only plan is to beat Inoue,” he said. “They can think about others; September 14 will show whose plan matters.”
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