There were moments in his most recent fight when Naoya Inoue felt like he could’ve pushed to knock out Murodjon Akhmadaliev.

Inoue suppressed that instinct in favor of a more measured approach that helped him handily beat the Uzbek southpaw unanimously on the scorecards September 14. Excessive aggression is what Inoue is sure led to Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas knocking him down during fights that the undisputed junior featherweight champion came back to win by technical knockout.

The Japanese superstar didn’t want to repeat that tactical mistake against the skillful Akhmadaliev, whom Inoue knew he could comfortably outbox.

“Of course there was [reluctance to hold back],” Inoue told The Ring’s Daisuke Sugiura. “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 (31-0, 27 KOs) – who will meet Mexico’s Alan Picasso on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – is one of boxing’s most electrifying fighters. The four-division champion had won 11 fights in a row by knockout before he defeated Akhmadaliev by scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111 three months ago at IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs) became the first fighter to take Inoue the distance since Nonito Donaire in November 2019. Going 12 rounds could become a more common occurrence if Inoue, ranked third on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, remains more mindful of defense.

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

FanDuel lists Inoue as a staggering 45-1 favorite over Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs), the WBC’s No. 2 contender. Their 12-round, 122-pound fight for Inoue’s Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts will headline “The Ring V: Night of the Samurai” show at Mohammed Abdo Arena.

DAZN will stream the card to subscribers of its monthly Ultimate plan ($44.99 in the United States; £24.99 in the UK) or on pay-per-view ($39.99 in the U.S.; £19.99 in the UK).