After Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan 2 in Belfast and the small matter of Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford in Las Vegas, it’s off to Japan on Sunday to see if ‘The Monster’ can pass what he expects to be his toughest test to date at Nagoya’s new IG Arena.
Inoue puts all his super-bantamweight titles on the line for the fifth time in front of an adoring home crowd, having travelled to the United States for his last defence in May against Ramon Cardenas, in which he bounced back from a shock early knockdown to keep his formidable unbeaten record and stoppage streak intact.
The 32-year-old, who has won titles in four different weight classes and also previously reigned as undisputed at bantamweight, will have to improve against a dangerous opponent in Akhmadaliev, who was Uzbekistan’s first-ever unified world champion as he held the WBA and IBF belts in the 122-pound division before suffering the only defeat of his professional career so far against Marlon Tapales in 2023.
He has won three times by stoppage since then, including against Luis Castillo in Mexico in May, to secure a shot at Inoue, who is hoping to remain on course for an epic clash with Japanese rival and unified bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani in 2026.
How to watch Inoue vs Akhmadaliev for free
TV channel: Inoue vs Akhmadaliev will not be broadcast live on television in either the UK or the United States.
Live stream: Inoue’s promoters Top Rank have, however, confirmed that the event will instead be shown live exclusively in the UK and USA via their official Facebook page, with coverage beginning at 9am BST – 5pm local time in Nagoya, 4am ET and 1am PT.
The main event is expected at around approximately 11:40am BST, which is 7:40pm JST, 6:40am ET and 3:40am PT.
Live blog: Follow the whole event live on Sunday with Standard Sport’s dedicated fight blog.
