Boxing

Murodjon Akhmadaliev Set To Fight May 30th Ahead Of Naoya Inoue Super-Fight

Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev is looking to stay fresh ahead of his undisputed title fight against "The Monster" this fall.
Johan Alyas Blanco|
Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev
Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev | IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Former unified super-bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev is looking to stay active ahead of his super-fight against Naoya Inoue this fall.

Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) is set to return to the ring on May 30th against Luis Castillo in Mexico. This fight is on the undercard headlined by Manuel Gallegos vs. Khalil Coe.

For "MJ", a win against Castillo (31-6, 20 KOs) all but seals his dream fight against Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) for the undisputed super-bantamweight title. According to Eddie Hearn, Akhmadaliev's promoter, the fight was a "done deal" for Sept. 14th in Japan.

The 30-year-old southpaw from Uzbekistan last fought on Dec. 14th, 2024, stopping Ricardo Espinoza Franco in the 3rd round. With that win, Akhmadaliev is now the WBA interim champion and the WBA mandatory for Inoue.

Since suffering his first career loss to Marlon Tapales back on April 8th, 2023, "MJ" has won two fights in a row.

Inoue defended his titles for a 4th time, stopping Ramon Cardenas in the 8th round of arguably the best fight over the weekend. "The Monster" had to go through some major adversity in that bout, getting knocked down in the 2nd round with a counter left hook. But champion showed heart and a relentless pace to get Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) out of there.

That moment could be something that Akhmadaliev looks at ahead of his bout against Inoue. While the Uzbek boxer is not the inside fighter that Cardenas is, he is an exceptional counterpuncher, who's quicker on the first. And with that being the second time Inoue has hit the canvas from the left hand, it could be an advantage for the southpaw.

"MJ" first has to get through Castillo first on May 30th, streaming on DAZN. One he does that, then we can look forward to Sept. 14th.

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Johan Alyas Blanco
JOHAN ALYAS BLANCO

Johan Alyas Blanco is a writer for KO On SI. Before joining in March 2025, he worked as a News Producer in Tallahassee and Orlando. He also works for several fight promotions in boxing and MMA, working on social media content. When he’s not writing, Alyas covers boxing on his own YouTube channel, The Split Decision. Blanco has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from UCF, with a minor in sports business management. Alyas has interviewed several big names in combat sports, including Jorge Masvidal, Edgar Berlanga and Brian Norman Jr. His goal is to bring boxing back to prominence.

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