Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Kakharovich Akhmadaliev & Yoshiki Takei vs. Christian Medina Jimenez RBR.

Not sure about MJ but (for comparison vs Kim he apparently weighed 62.9 kg, 62.7 kg vs Doheny):

“Boxing: Unified Super Bantamweight World Title Match (14th, IG Arena)”

Unified 4-belt champion Naoya Inoue (32, Ohashi Gym) defeated WBA interim champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (30, Uzbekistan) by a wide unanimous decision (3–0) to successfully defend his titles.

At the post-fight press conference, Inoue calmly reflected: “Today was a fight where I executed the strategy all the way through.” Although he missed out on a KO victory for the first time in 12 bouts, he graded himself highly, saying: “Against Akhmadaliev, that style of fighting deserves a perfect score of 100.”

His fight-day weight was 61.5 kg, and he explained: “I wanted to make sure I could move properly for 12 rounds, so I came in feeling a little lighter.” True to plan, he overwhelmed his opponent with speed and volume of punches, maintained proper distance, and never allowed the heavy-hitting challenger to land a decisive blow.

Speaking with an unmarked face, Inoue said of Akhmadaliev’s power: “I never took a punch with 100% impact, so I didn’t feel it.” However, he admitted: “If I had taken a full-impact punch, I think he definitely had the power. That was the one thing I kept paying attention to.”

Going in, Inoue had prepared for the possibility of a full 12-round fight against the dangerous Akhmadaliev. “I discovered how difficult it is not to go for the knockout. There were many moments where I thought, ‘I should just go for it,’” he confessed about his inner struggle during the match. “Today, my theme was patience. Even in the corner, my father kept telling me, ‘You’re fine like this,’ and ‘Don’t overcommit.’ I was able to stick to in-and-out boxing, picking up points, and stay disciplined.”

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7faec9cfbbc41b1a602433b27f801816d78e997d#:~:text=当日体重は６１・５,顔で話した井上。

 

Inoue hit the brakes in moments that seemed like chances to finish. He was mindful of the lessons from this May’s fight against Cardenas and last May’s bout with Luis Nery (Mexico), when he was knocked down. Trading blows with Akhmadaliev, whom he rated higher than those two for power, would have increased his chances of scoring a knockout, but it also carried the risk of being knocked out himself. The theme Inoue set for this fight was “restraint.” In his corner, trainer Shingo Inoue repeatedly told him: “This is fine. Box with in-and-out movement, box to score points.” The champion advanced the fight while suppressing his natural desire to “go for the KO.”

Even in the later rounds, Inoue kept working his jab effectively, moving his feet, and maintaining the pace he had set early on. Though he ate a right hook and dropped the final round, the scorecards read overwhelmingly in his favor: one judge had it 117–111, and the other two 118–110. Inoue himself was satisfied, saying, “Against Akhmadaliev, I think that performance deserves a perfect score of 100.”

Why is Inoue’s boxing “compelling even by decision”?
Inoue didn’t go for the knockout. Yet the fight was still highly compelling. The appeal of boxing isn’t found only in fierce exchanges. On this night, fans were impressed by his smart outboxing style—many probably discovered a new dimension to the sport.

Of course, if an ordinary boxer failed to press an advantage when given a chance, people would wonder, “What is he doing?” But we already know that Inoue has produced countless dramatic knockouts in difficult situations. That’s why we were captivated by seeing a different version of “The Monster.”

This marked only the fourth time in Inoue’s career that a fight has gone to the scorecards—after Ryoichi Taguchi in August 2013, David Carmona in May 2016, and Nonito Donaire in November 2019. But it was the first time he had intentionally aimed for a decision.

It should also be noted that this doesn’t mean Inoue is about to reinvent himself as “Mr. Decision.” At the end of the press conference he clarified:

“I’m satisfied because I showed I can make a fight entertaining even if it goes to a decision. But I also treasure the knockout as one of boxing’s true thrills, so either way, I want to keep showing good boxing.”

After the fight, speaking in the ring, Inoue confirmed his next appearance would be at the big event long rumored for December in Saudi Arabia: “I’ve heard my next fight is in December in Saudi.” Then, cutting off Bob Arum on the mic, he called out to Junto Nakatani (M.T), who was in the arena: “Hey, Nakatani! One more win in December—let’s both do our best, and next year let’s light up the Tokyo Dome together!” The 16,000 fans in attendance erupted in cheers. When it came to hyping the future with his trademark “preview,” Inoue was his usual self.

https://www.msn.com/ja-jp/sports/ot...するシーン-最強挑戦者を圧倒-なぜ-判定狙い-でも魅力的だったのか/ar-AA1MxPsK

 

He did announce before the fight that this time he won't be trying for a KO to set the expectations

I wanted to bet Inoue by UD based on that but just wasn't sure whether he would stick to his word or just go for it as his instincts kicked in after some fan in the audience shouted "Naoya finish him" (he has done that in 1 of his past fights when he thought he could box to a decision but decided to go for the KO due to a fan in audience demanding it)

I think after Nery & Cardenas, they want to be more cautious especially against 1 punch power hitters like Nakatani or Espinoza at 126. But for average to below average punchers, he will continue the usual & KO them

This was the test run on whether he would be able to stick to the plan in future especially with his dad constantly telling him not to deviate from the plan in the 2nd half of the fight

 

He looked good boxing from what I saw