Murodjon Akhmadaliev long ago realized he is the only top 122-pounder that Naoya Inoue does not wish to fight.

That doesn’t mean he plans to back down on his dream to one day land the fight, even if by force.

The former unified super bantamweight titlist is left on the outside looking in for the moment. Uzbekistan’s Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 knockouts) was offered a consolation prize, an interim WBA title fight versus Ricardo Espinoza. A win would theoretically put him on a direct path for Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), The Ring and undisputed 122-pound champion.

So, too, was his year-long status as WBA mandatory challenger.

“Sometimes there are other things involved. This time, EVERYTHING is involved,” Akhmadaliev told The Ring as translated by Alik Frolov. “Inoue is clearly worried about this fight and determined for it to not happen.”

Akhmadaliev-Espinoza headlines Matchroom Boxing’s annual Monte Carlo show at Salle des Étoiles (Saturday, DAZN, 1:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. GMT).

The fight is the first for Akhmadaliev, The Ring No. 2 junior featherweight, in exactly 52 weeks. His last appearance was a sixth-round knockout of Kevin Gonzalez in a WBA title eliminator last Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona. The win was his first fight back after a heartbreaking and disputed defeat to Marlon Tapales to end his WBA/IBF title reign last April.

The next step should have been a title shot versus Inoue, who first had to face WBC mandatory challenger Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs), The Ring No. 4 super bantamweight.

Inoue survived the first knockdown of his career to stop Nery in the sixth round on May 7 in Tokyo. The WBA did their part soon thereafter by ordering The Ring No. 2 pound-for-pound entrant to next face Akhmadaliev.

Then… nothing.

“The rules are different for this guy,” Akhmadaliev insisted. “We wasted all year on this nonsense. I had a fight in July that I had to give up because they ordered this fight. Then he gets to turn around and fight someone who wasn’t even his mandatory (TJ Doheny).

“I don’t know if he’s scared, if it’s politics or whatever. But I don’t care. The only fight at 122 that makes sense for him is versus me.”

The reality is that a win on Saturday could guarantee a direct trail to the main WBA title, but not necessarily to Inoue. Next up for the four-division champion is a Dec. 24 Ring/undisputed championship defense in Tokyo versus IBF mandatory Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), The Ring No. 3 contender.

With a win, rumors have already swirled of Inoue returning to the U.S. for a springtime title defense versus Mexico’s Alan Picasso (30-0-1, 16 KOs), No. 5 at 122 by The Ring.

There seems a greater likelihood that Akhmadaliev would be elevated to full WBA titleholder than afforded the chance to beat Inoue for it in the ring.

That part of the sport is well beyond his control—as he’s painfully learned. All that makes sense for the moment is to focus on what is in his reach.

“My hands are just itching to get back in the ring,” stated Akhmadaliev. “Everything else will just have to fall into place.”