Pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue puts his undisputed super bantamweight title on the line against Murodjon Akhmadaliev on September 14. The fight takes place at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
Inoue (30-0-0, 27 KOs) is coming off an action-packed win against Ramon Cardenas. ‘The Monster’ was dropped early in the fight but came back in an impressive manner to stop Cardenas. Akhmadaliev (14-1-0, 11 KOs) is known for his power, making it a battle of two punchers who love to throw down.
Let’s have a look at the odds and prediction ahead of the contest.
Odds courtesy of Draftkings
Moneyline: Inoue (-1000), Akhmadaliev (+600)
Total rounds: 9.5 (Over +100, Under -135)
KO/TKO/DQ: Inoue (-260), Akhmadaliev (+1100).
Decision: Inoue (+320), Akhmadaliev (+1400).
Akhmadaliev has power and he is looking to stun Inoue. The Uzbek is also technically sound and might catch Inoue with some good shots early. That said, those who have followed Inoue know that ‘The Monster’ meets fire with fire.
Unlike many other superstar names, Inoue doesn’t play it safe and comes to put on a show everytime. It’s hard to see this time would be an exception. While Inoue likes a scrap, he is not a slugger by any means and has top-notch technical fundamentals.
With 25 championship fights (23 KO wins) under his belt, he has been fighting the elite for a long time. Akhmadaliev is good and might have his moments in the fight. However, it takes one big moment for a fighter like Inoue to get the job done.
It’s hard to bet against ‘The Monster’ and he should get the job done after the first half of the fight once he figures Akhmadaliev out.
Prediction: Naoya Inoue by seventh round KO.
Naoya Inoue vs Murodjon Akhmadaliev: Undisputed Super Bantamweight title Yoshiki Takei vs Christian Medina Jimenez: WBO Bantamweight titleYuni Takada vs Ryusei Matsumoto: WBA Regular Minimumweight titleYudai Murakami vs Taiga Imanaga: Japanese Lightweight titleEi Go vs Shunpei Ohata: Super FeatherweightToshiki Shimomachi vs Han Sol Lee: Super BantamweightTaisei Ayano vs Yusuke Nawa: Bantamweight
Stream: Top Rank Facebook Live (Worldwide), Lemino (Japan)
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