Naoya Inoue Declines Mandatory, Plans for September Fight in Japan
Jun 14, 2024 • 8:34 PM ET
LAS VEGAS – Undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue is rebuffing a WBA order and will instead return to Japan for a September title defense, two officials familiar with the unbeaten fighter’s plans told BoxingScene on Friday.
Neither official would confirm that Inoue’s next fight deal is signed, but it’s believed that Australia’s former IBF junior featherweight titleholder TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) is the targeted opponent for Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs).
Hours after the WBA on Thursday issued an order for four-division champion Inoue to fight former unified 122-pound titleholder Murodjon “M.J.” Akhmadaliev, Inoue’s American promoter, Bob Arum, on Friday shot down the suggestion that Inoue must fight the Uzbekistan fighter next.
Undisputed champions typically follow an established order of confronting their mandatory challengers, but Inoue officials told BoxingScene on Friday they’re not certain the WBA is first in line.
Akhmadaliev’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, told BoxingScene late Thursday night that he would be highly interested in placing that bout on the Sept. 21 card at London’s Wembley Stadium headlined by former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s bout against countryman Daniel Dubois.
Arum responded quickly that it would not happen, criticizing Akhmadaliev as an anonymous fighter, and now it’s clear that Inoue is intent to return to Japan, where he drew 55,000 to the Tokyo Dome on May 6 and knocked out former 122-pound titleholder Luis Nery of Mexico.
Doheny, 37, has built a following in Japan by participating in three consecutive fights there, and he’s the No. 2-ranked 122-pounder behind Australia’s Sam Goodman, who surprisingly accepted another bout instead of invoking his position as IBF mandatory to Inoue.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
