Inoue dominates Akhmadaliev, retains undisputed title

Naoya “Monster” Inoue (31-0, 27 KO) retained his undisputed super-bantamweight title, defeating clearly on points Uzbek challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs).

All three judges scored the fight in favor of Inoue. Two of them scored 118:110 and one 117:111. Inoue kept his WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF belts.

The four-weight world champion added that he proved he can fight smart if he wants to at any point.

“We saw tonight what a complete fighter Inoue has become,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Inoue’s major fights, said.

“[He’s] not only a great puncher, but [has] great strategy, [and] great footwork.

“That’s what the all-time greats have, and this man demonstrated it tonight.”

Inoue now is set to fight in December in Saudi Arabia against David Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs). The two-division undisputed champion is expected then, to face countryman Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) next year.