1 week ago
As boxing aliases go, location are fewer amended fitting than Naoya ‘The Monster’ Inoue.
The Japanese superstar boasts a grounds of 26 consecutive wins, pinch 23 stoppages.
It is simply a feat made each nan much staggering considering Inoue fights successful nan little weight divisions, wherever knockouts are mostly overmuch harder to travel by.
“Inoue is arsenic bully arsenic it gets. He is arguably nan astir complete combatant successful nan world correct now,” says erstwhile WBO super-featherweight world champion Barry Jones.
“Every punch he hits you pinch tin destruct you.”
Inoue became undisputed super-bantamweight champion successful December, having besides won each 4 world titles astatine bantamweight.
The 31-year-old will make a first defence of his crown against Mexican Luis Nery successful Tokyo connected Monday.
Nery, a dense underdog, has described Inoue arsenic "overrated, over-confident and ordinary” - but nan champion’s accolades opportunity otherwise.
Inoue has lived up to nan moniker ‘kaibutsu’ - translated to ‘the monster’ - bestowed upon him by gym proprietor and erstwhile world champion Hideyuki Ohashi aft conscionable 1 fight.
He is simply a four-weight world champion and nan only antheral combatant - aft Terence Crawford - to go undisputed successful 2 weight classes.
“Inoue does beautiful overmuch everything very, very well. He has crazy powerfulness but his method is flawless and his equilibrium is sublime. These are hallway of fame attributes,” Jones says.
“But that powerfulness - he carries it throughout. He tin sound you retired successful information 1 aliases sound you retired successful information 12. He tin moreover return a bully shot.”
Southpaw Nery is himself a two-division champion and has conscionable 1 blemish connected his grounds - a stoppage nonaccomplishment to Brandon Figueroa successful 2021.
“It’s a bully and nosy fight” Jones says. “I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if it goes precocious but pinch nan powerfulness successful his correct hand, I deliberation Inoue will triumph wrong nan distance.”
Jones expects Inoue to move up to featherweight and has identified nan victor of WBC champion Ray Ford aliases Nick Ball - who conflict successful Riyadh connected 1 June - arsenic a imaginable adjacent opponent.
“When you move up successful weight, your estimation precedes you and I fancy Inoue against either of them,” he says.
“From location on, an undisputed title successful a 3rd section would undoubtedly put him arsenic an all-time great.”
A crowd of 50,000 will beryllium successful attendance connected Monday astatine nan Tokyo Dome cheering connected their section star.
The past clip a boxing arena was held astatine nan venue was erstwhile Buster Douglas famously shocked heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson successful 1990.
According to reports, Inoue will gain a purse of 1bn yen (£5.2m) against Nery, alongside respective lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals.
But contempt Inoue’s fame successful his location state - wherever he has fought 22 times - location are those who consciousness he has not yet reached nan world superstar position deserving of his achievements.
Earlier this twelvemonth boxer-turned-pundit Shawn Porter said Inoue had to “crack America” to heighten his stardom.
“How tin you opportunity he is not a large capable star?,” Jones asks. “Name maine different feline astatine that weight who sells retired a stadium?"
“It’s conscionable nan occidental world - we’re beautiful overmuch talking astir nan UK and US - wherever he whitethorn not beryllium a family name, but each boxing instrumentality knows who he is.
“The truth is he’s mini and his fights are often connected weekday daytimes, but this thought that he isn’t celebrated aliases isn’t a large capable prima depends connected what broadside of nan thoroughfare you’re stepping on."
