'Monster' Inoue to face Akhmadaliev in Japan

The unbeaten Inoue stopped American Ramon Cardenas in the eighth round in Las Vegas in his previous bout -- the first time the boxer known as "Monster" had fought outside Japan in four years.

The 32-year-old returns to his home country to take on Akhmadaliev, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and held the WBA and IBF super-bantamweight world titles between 2020 and 2023.

Inoue, who has a 30-0 record with 27 knockouts, told reporters in Tokyo that he wanted to "pay attention to all my skills" in preparing for the fight.

"I want to train with a high level of vigilance," he said.

Inoue was knocked down for only the second time in his career against Cardenas, taking a left hook from the heavy underdog in the second round.

He climbed off the canvas to stop Cardenas 45 seconds into the eighth round after a flurry of powerhouse punches.

It was Inoue's fourth title defence since becoming undisputed super-bantamweight champion and his second of the year after knocking out South Korea's Kim Ye-joon in the fourth round in Tokyo in January.

Akhmadaliev (14-1, 11 KOs) beat Mexico's Luis Castillo in his previous fight in May.