Today, September 14th, a major professional boxing event will take place in Japan. The main event of the evening will be held for the absolute world championship in the lightest weight category: Japanese Naoya Inoue will defend her championship belts against Murodjon Akhmadaliev. And you can't miss this fight, even if you're sleeping to watch the confrontation between Canelo and Crawford at night. The boxing tournament has already begun, and Inoue and Akhmadaliev will enter the ring soon.
First reason - will Inoue finish again?
Naoya Inoue is considered the most dangerous "mukhach" in modern boxing. No matter what weight category a Japanese competitor competes in, he always aims to knock out his opponent. In professional boxing, 30 fights, 30 wins, 27 finishes - phenomenal statistics that even heavyweight boxers envy. The Japanese, nicknamed Monstr, has been winning by knockouts for six years, unlike Canelo, who hasn't finished any fights ahead of schedule for four years; his last fight, which Inoue had to fight fully, was against Filipino Nonito Doner in the 2019 World Boxing Super Series final. Therefore, Naoya will try to finish this time as well, and moreover, she will enter the ring at home, in front of the fans.
The second reason is that the Japanese man wants to move up to heavyweight
Inoue is one of the stars of Turki Al ash-Sheikh, for whom the Saudi sports figure has made big plans. Many believe that there are no strong and star competitors in the lower divisions, which affects the Japanese player's reputation. Turki, meanwhile, aims to lift the Japanese athlete to higher weight categories. If he successfully defends his belts in the previous fight as well, Inoue will most likely leave his belts vacant and head to the light welterweight division, where the undisputed British champion Nick Ball awaits him - and this will be a truly big fight. After that, he could be confronted with Gervonta Davis.
The third reason is that Inoue did not fight experienced amateurs
Inoue's career in Olympic boxing was unsuccessful: in 2011, he tried to go to the London Olympics, but after losing to Kazakhstani Birzhan Zhakypov in the final of the qualifying tournament in Astana, he switched to professional boxing. In Naoya's career, there were opponents with backgrounds, as in amateur boxing: for example, Stephen Fulton. However, he hadn't yet fought an opponent with an experienced amateur history. Ahmadaliyev has extensive experience and remarkable results in this area: he won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and the 2015 Asian Championships in Bangkok, and a gold medal at the 2017 Asian Championships in Tashkent. In turn, Inoue has more experience in professional boxing, he has fought twice as many fights as his Uzbek opponent (Ahmadaliyev has 15 fights).
Fourth reason - Inoue's defensive problems increase intrigue
Inoue is known for his brilliant style, but in recent fights, Inoue has been experiencing defensive issues. Last year, he was knocked down in a fight against Luis Neri, and in May of this year, Ramon Cardenas also knocked him down. All this adds intrigue to the upcoming fight: Ahmadaliyev knows how to strike from close range, he also knocked out his opponents in 11 out of 14 victories. Murodjon understands that defeating Inoue by points in Japan is almost an unrealistic task, so he also has to try to finish. This, of course, will make the competition even more spectacular.
"I feel in the best form of my entire career. I can destroy any opponent, I believe in this. Inoue is no exception. My task is to defeat him, and I will do everything in my power for this. I have everything to compete at the highest level.
I will prove to the world who is the best. Inoue is a universal boxer, possessing all the skills, but these descriptions apply to me as well. Ring never lies," Akhmadaliev said in an interview with The Ring before the fight.
The winner will receive these five belts
The fifth reason - Ahmadaliyev has nothing to lose, Inoue has something
Undoubtedly, Naoya is the favorite in the upcoming fight. The invincible Japanese fighter defends the title of absolute world champion for the third time this year, and Naoya is considered one of the main stars of modern boxing, regardless of weight categories. At the same time, it is important to remember that each time he bears a great responsibility. If Inoue loses, he will lose not only the desired "0" and all his championship belts, but also his reputation as an invincible young man. At the same time, further plans for transitioning to another weight category may also fail. Ahmadaliyev has nothing to lose at all. What happens if he loses to Inoue? Nothing
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