'I held myself back' - Naoya Inoue makes shocking admission about his last fight

Naoya Inoue has admitted that he held back in certain moments during his last fight for the first time in his career.

Inoue felt he could have gone for the knockout but opted for a more measured approach when recording a unanimous decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September.

The Japanese superstar was knocked down by Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas previously and it may have been his excessive aggression that caused that, before he came back to win both of those fights by stoppage.

The 32-year-old didn’t want to make the same tactical mistake against Akhmadaliev and felt he could outbox the Uzbeck instead.

“Of course there was [reluctance to hold back],” Inoue told The Ring.

“But I also understand that this is my weakness now. Opposing teams strategizing for me know this, too – they think my desire to entertain makes me attack aggressively at times, and that those moments are openings.

“So, I’ve started thinking that maybe I don’t need to prioritize entertaining the fans in every fight.”

Inoue takes on Alan Picasso on Saturday’s The Ring V: Night of the Samurai card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on DAZN , as he defends his undisputed super bantamweight title in the main event.

Akhmadaliev was the first person to go the distance with Inoue since Nonito Donaire in November 2019 and the 4-weight champion could adopt more cautious approach from now on.

He added: “Let me clarify – when fighting true champion-level opponents, I don’t go in thinking I will force a knockout.

“If an opportunity comes naturally, I take it. Of course, there are fights where you must knock your opponent out or shouldn’t let it go to the scorecards.

“But in fights like [Stephen] Fulton, Marlon Tapales, Nery, and Akhmadaliev – since moving up to super bantamweight – I never went in planning to force a stoppage.

“What was unique about the Akhmadaliev fight was that even when I saw moments where I could have gone for the finish, I held myself back. That was the first time in my career.”

Watch Ring V Inoue vs. Picasso on DAZN PPV

Naoya Inoue and Alan Picasso headline the Ring V fight night, exclusively on DAZN PPV this Saturday, December 27.

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