Murodjon Akhmadaliev: Naoya Inoue is “trying to avoid the fight with me”

Had Murodjon Akhmadaliev not lost his IBF and WBA junior featherweight titles to Marlon Tapales last April, he’d have been front and center to face Naoya Inoue for the right to become the undisputed champion.

As we all know, Akhmadaliev, rated at No. 3 by The Ring at junior featherweight, was controversially beaten by Tapales, thus losing his bargaining chips. The Filipino parlayed that triumph into the Inoue sweepstakes and was ultimately stopped in 10 rounds.

Meanwhile, the former amateur standout from Uzbekistan returned with a win a comprehensive win over previously unbeaten Kevin Gonzalez (TKO 8) last December. He hoped that would lead to a long-awaited fight with Inoue.

However, it appears Inoue will face TJ Doheny in September before all being well rounding out the year against IBF mandatory Sam Goodman, leaving Akhmadaliev without a dance partner.

“I feel like I was supposed to fight Inoue when Tapales fought him,” Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 knockouts) told The Ring. “Tapales did not have much success against him and I feel I can be a much more competitive fight.

“I’m not in a rush to fight him, I can fight him in December but I do believe they will not fight me. Obviously, TJ Doheny is not a top contender in the weight class right now.”

In fact, Akhmadaliev was happy to go a step further.

“I believe they are trying to avoid the fight with me,” he said. “It feels like with him being such a legend and pound-for-pound fighter that he should be fighting top opposition even if they’re not mandatories and I feel I’m one of the top fighters in the division.”

His manager Vadim Kornilov, who also works with Dmitry Bivol and a slew of other top Uzbek fighters including Israil Madrimov, wants his fighter to be acknowledged and not passed over.

“Again there’s no rush but at the same time I don’t think the fight will happen,” said Kornilov. “It seems Inoue is looking for an easier fight right now with TJ Doheny and in December, I’m assuming they’ll go another way or change the weight class at that point and try to avoid a fight with MJ.

“If we’re looking at what’s happening in Saudi Arabia, the best are fighting the best and this is one of those fights, where the best would meet one of the best in the division and this is where you can prove you’re the best, not by fighting other guys that have already been beaten numerous times.”

Akhmadaliev, who is the WBA mandatory and Kornilov seem to have a point and are more worthy than Doheny (26-4, 20 knockouts). However, the 37-year-old Irish-born Australia resident, who is The Ring’s No. 8-rated 122-pound fighter, is well-known and regarded in Japanese circles, going 4-0 there, notably besting Ryosuke Iwasa (UD 12) in 2018. His last three outings, all wins, inside the distance, have also taken place there. Though good wins, Inoue would be a significant step up.

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