Promoter Eddie Hearn criticized unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue in an interview, saying he needs to be stripped of his WBA title for ducking his mandatory Murodjon Akhmadaliev three times.
Hearn says Inoue’s resume is “s***t,” and he’s “disappointing” as a fighter because he’s milking his titles and defending against weak opposition. Last Friday, Inoue defended against little-known Ye Joon Kim in a horrible mismatch in Tokyo.
Hearn said it was an awful fight and felt that his original opponent, Sam Goodman, wasn’t much better, nor was Naoya’s previous title defense against 38-year-old TJ Doheny last September.
It’s obvious to fans that Inoue isn’t interested in risky fights, and he hasn’t been in many years since his first fight against then-36-year-old Nonito Donaire, in which he suffered a broken orbital bone and a fractured nose.
Strip Inoue!
“Why should Naoya Inoue be given a pass to fight low-level opponents [Ye Joon Kim] and duck his mandatory? Not once, not twice, but three times,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue repeatedly taking on soft opposition, like Ye Joon Kim and TJ Doheny, while ducking his mandatory Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
“Naoya Inoue is a pound-for-pound great, but his resume is s***. Okay, he beat Stephen Fulton. It was a good performance. I think Naoya Inoue is really disappointing, and I think he’s very, very disappointing as a champion.
“I think fight fans need to wake up to what’s going on with Naoya Inoue. He’s boxed TJ Doheny and the geezer on Saturday [Ye Joon Kim]. I know he was supposed to fight Sam Goodman. No disrespect, but he’s just another [soft job].”
Even if Naoya is stripped of his WBA title, he’s still not likely to fight Akhmadaliev. If he wanted to fight him, he would have done it already. So, the WBA can strip Inoue, but that’s not likely to result in him feeling a sense of urgency to want to get that belt back. He’s likely to continue fighting the same opposition he’s been, making easy money, feasting on the likes of Ye Joon Kim, Doheny, Sam Goodman, and Alan David Picasso.
Wake Up, Fight Fans!
“They’re just allowing this to happen. He’s been ordered twice now to fight MJ [Akhmadaliev,’ said Hearn about Inoue. “He’s paid money to the WBA for a permit to avoid him. The IBF said, ‘We’ll allow you to fight Goodman reluctantly. That’s the second time you’ve ducked, but after you fight Goodman or this guy [Kim] you just boxed, you have to fight Akhmadaliev, and we’ll order the fight immediately. If you do not fight him, you’ll be stripped of the WBA title.’
“He’s only going to fight [Alan Davis] Picasso. He’s not as good as Akhmadaliev. Three ducks [by Inoue]. This is outrageous. You are disappointing, Naoya Inoue. You are not the fighter that I thought you were. Akhmadaliev is now going to be the WBA champion. You have to fight him to be undisputed. Fight fans need to wake up,” said Hearn.
