Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue might be an undefeated and undisputed world champion, but according to Eddie Hearn, he’s also a ‘Monster’ Duck.
The Matchroom boss has long been at odds with the Japanese superstar, having previously accused Inoue of ducking Murodjon ‘MJ’ Akhmadaliev; one of Eddie Hearn’s top clients.
Well, after Inoue scored a brutal fourth round against Ye Joon Kim, Hearn is once again taking aim at ‘Monster’ – even going as far as to demand that he be removed from the pound-for-pound list.
Eddie Hearn rips into Naoya Inoue over ‘ducking’ mandatory fighters
Speaking earlier today to iFL TV, Eddie Hearn launched another scathing attack on Naoya Inoue, claiming that the Japanese ‘Monster’ has now ducked ‘MJ’ three times.
“Why should Naoya Inoue get a pass to fight low-level opponents and duck his mandatory not once, not twice, but three times? [Fighting mandatory challengers] It’s what you do as a champion.
“Inoue’s undisputed, a pound-for-pound great [but] I’ve got to say, his resume is pretty s*** to be honest with you. Okay, he beat Stephen Fulton and that was a good performance, but I mean [grimaces], I don’t know.
“I think Naoya Inoue is really disappointing, and I think he’s very disappointing as a champion,” claimed Hearn, before stating that boxing fans need to “wake up” to the reality of the situation.
“Listen, remember this. The WBA said ‘Okay, we’ll allow you to fight Goodman, reluctantly, that’s the second time, but after Goodman – or this other guy – you have to fight Akhmadaliev and we will order that fight immediately, and if you do not fight him, you will be stripped of the WBA title’.
“He’s only going to fight Picasso, Picasso?! He’s [a good fighter] but not as good as MJ, he was last seen doing a bit of pastel work somewhere on the canvas, and not the one in the ring. What the f***! Three ducks!”
Inoue has already hit back at Hearn once before, claiming that there’s ‘zero need’ to fight Akhmadaliev after he lost his two titles to Marlon Tapales in 2023.
“This is outrageous, Naoya Inoue – you are disappointing, you are not the fighter I thought you were,” continued Hearn, adding “It’s time for Naoya Inoue to be taken out of the pound-for-pound list.”
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Eddie Hearn predicts Turki Alalshikh will make Inoue vs Akhmadaliev for December
Despite his rather harsh remarks, Hearn still believes that Inoue and Akhmadaliev will lock horns before the year’s out, especially now that financier Turki Alalshikh has expressed interest in the fight.
“He wants the Akhmadaliev fight. He said to me, ‘What’s the best fight in the division for Inoue?’ and I said, ‘My man’ – he said, ‘Well why isn’t that fight happening,’ and I don’t know.
“So, what’s going to happen is Inoue’s going to fight Leonardo da Vinci in April or May and then he’s going to fight in Riyadh in December, right?
“In December, I believe that his excellency will make Akhmadaliev vs Inoue for undisputed because he’s the only one [able] to get him to do it.”
Akhmadaliev won the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title with his own monstrous KO over Ricardo Espinoza last December; with Hearn rightly noting that Inoue vs MJ is simply “the best fight in the division.”
Who would you like to see Inoue fight next; a re-booking against Sam Goodman, a potential Japanese super-fight against Junto Nakatani, or the long-awaited showdown with MJ?