On Sunday morning, Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super bantamweight crown with a dominant unanimous decision win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan. The judges scored it 117-111, 118-110, and 118-110, all in favor of ‘The Monster,’ who further cemented his position as No. 2 on The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list, just behind Oleksandr Usyk. This marked Inoue’s seventh victory in just 26 months.

He cleaned out the division by defeating Stephen Fulton, Marlon Tapales, Luis Nery, TJ Doheny, Ye Joon Kim, Ramon Cardenas, and now Akhmadaliev. By contrast, Usyk has fought only three times and has no plans to step into the ring again in 2025. With that in mind, a strong case could be made for Inoue to claim the No. 1 pound-for-pound spot – a point he himself raised before the fight. For now, Inoue has his eyes set on two even bigger challenges ahead.

Who is Naoya Inoue fighting next? 

Right after his fight, Naoya Inoue announced that his next outing is being planned for December in Saudi Arabia, promoted by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. He doubled down on his claims through social media later, where he wrote, “I’ll take some rest and prepare for my fight in Saudi Arabia in December!” While sharing some pictures from the fight against ‘MJ,’ he added, “Please continue to look forward to Naoya Inoue.” Interestingly, reports suggest Inoue will face David Picasso in the Riyadh Season main event of a Japan vs. Mexico card on Dec. 27 in Riyadh.

Picasso was originally supposed to fight Inoue on May 4th in Las Vegas, vying for Inoue’s super bantamweight titles. But the fight never ended up happening, and Cardenas stepped up to fight the Japanese star. Regardless, Inoue also wants to square off against fellow pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani, who was ringside for the ‘MJ’ fight. “One more fight, and then I’m going to get you, Nakatani,” Inoue told his Japanese rival. 

However, a new challenger has now emerged from the ashes. Reacting to a post on X, which was advocating for Inoue’s spot as the No.1 on the pound-for-pound rankings, three-division champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines challenged Inoue for a fight. “Maybe you forgot me @naoyainoue_410,” he wrote on X. That being said, it’s yet to be seen whether this challenge produces any fruit in the future. 

For now, ‘The Monster’ seems to be focused on facing David Picasso and Junto Nakatani. In the meantime, Inoue craves the achievement he deserves. 

Inoue brands himself pound-for-pound No.1

Before his fight against Akhmadaliev, the undisputed super bantamweight champion from Japan, ranked No. 2 pound-for-pound by The Ring, claimed he should sit atop the list ahead of Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford. “I am the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world,” Inoue declared at a recent press conference.

While Crawford had a chance to and became the only male boxer with undisputed status in three weight classes, Inoue wasn’t ready to take a backseat. With his own fight against Akhmadaliev, Inoue was confident his fight was much more important. “I’m looking forward to watching Canelo vs. Crawford, but I think my fight is more important,” said Inoue. 

Currently, both Inoue and Crawford have won their fights, but their position on the P4P rankings hasn’t changed. Perhaps a win over Nakatani next year could change that. However, where do you think Naoya Inoue should be ranked?