Complications Hound Inoue's Year-End Fight
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 05 Sep 2024
Inoue (L) and Akhmadaliev (R).
Following Naoya Inoue's recent successful defense of his world super bantamweight titles versus TJ Doheny, the row with the World Boxing Association is likely to be opened again as Inoue's handlers prepare for his next fight reportedly set for December in Japan.
Apparently, the WBA has acceded to continue recognizing Inoue as champion despite him not fighting WBA mandatory Morudjon Akhmaladiev in his recent defense against TJ Doheny, where the WBA title was not at stake.
The WBA has let this pass in the expectation that Inoue will honor its outstanding mandate and defend against Murodjon in his next fight.
Inoue had earlier defended against WBC mandatory Luis Nery, also winning by knockout.
But then, other complication looms in the horizon as the WBO and IBF could always claim that they are originally ahead of the WBA in the order of the cycle of mandatory defenses with Sam Goodman as mandatory challenger. It's just Goodman requested the Inoue challenge be moved from September to December which was granted, creating a vacuum.
The WBA sought to fill that vacuum as the next in the order following the WBO and IBF, and mandated that Inoue defends against Morudjon Akhmadaliev which the Inoue camp ignored and chosen Doheny.
Goodman is looking forward to be Inoue's next foe this December, even reportedly backing out of a fight underneath a card starring Nikita Tszyu in Australia to prepare himself for the Inoue fight.
The source of the row between the WBA and Inoue has therefore resurfaced.
The ball is back to the two parties' hands.
On the part of Inoue, will he still opt for Goodman, his supposed original mandatory last September and who Bob Arum and his handles are favoring this December at the risk of again earning the ire of the WBA, and getting stripped?
On the part of the WBA, will it stand pat in enforcing its right as the one holding the next right to Inoue's mandatory defense after the cycle was skewed by Goodman? Is it ready to withdraw recognition to Inoue if Inoue chooses Goodman next?
Partly, the fault lies with the Inoue camp as Doheny was not a mandatory challenger representing any of the four major sanctioning bodies. Hence his last fight against Doheny could be considered as a "choice defense" which anyway is within his right as champion.
But the WBA could be faulted too for being soft in not fighting and pushing hard for its "the next in the order" after Goodman skewed WBO and IBF's chance by requesting for a reset. The WBA continued to recognize Inoue despite the snob.
If the WBA has any sense of dignity, it should at least have threatened to strip Inoue or ordered a fight for its interim title.
But the biggest collateral victim here is Morudjon Akhmadaliev who faces the prospect to sitting the whole year without a fight.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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