Naoya Inoue might be one of the best fighter on this planet.
On Boxing Day appropriately, December 26, stay on Sky Sports activities, ‘The Monster’ Inoue fights Marlon Tapales on the Ariake Enviornment in Japan.
Inoue brilliantly received the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles in his final battle, his first at 122lbs, when he knocked out glorious American Stephen Fulton.
With Tapales the holder of the IBF and WBA belts, this conflict gives Inoue the prospect to turn out to be a two-weight undisputed champion.
Successful that will place Inoue in august firm. Within the four-belt period up to now just one man, Terence Crawford, has gone undisputed in two weight lessons.
Inoue’s observe document of accomplishment is phenomenal. He first received a world title at light-flyweight, in simply his sixth professional bout.
He received a championship at super-flyweight earlier than leaping as much as bantamweight, the place amongst his spectacular victories he smashed Jamie McDonnell in a spherical and received a thriller towards Nonito Donaire, earlier than dismissing ‘ The Filipino Flash’ in simply two rounds in a rematch.
He turned the undisputed bantamweight champion final December, and if he beats Tapales will go undisputed in his second weight class in simply over a yr.
What has made such an impression too is the fashion of his victories.
“A special fighter, he does everything well. Everything. I can’t find a fault in him,” stated Corridor of Famer Jane Sofa.
Gary Logan, a boxing coach and pundit, famous: “And what he is actually good at, for those who do discover a weak spot, he rapidly closes that door. He rapidly closes that door and finds a solution to the reply that you just assume you’ve got discovered.
“He did it with Fulton in the last fight where he kept touching Fulton with a hard jab to the stomach. Before Fulton realises it, to protect his stomach from that hard jab, he’s dropped his left hand and he [Inoue] has brought through that right hand over the top.
“He is all the time cleverly pressuring you and taking a look at your errors that you just’re making whereas he is pressuring you. So in impact, he is fairly an aggressive counter-puncher.
“But he can also lead as well because he’s got that one-two snap, that rare power, that rare timing. If you had to put him in a box, it’s the rare timing that he has that gives you that snap.
“He is knocking out males that look decidedly larger than him and you could possibly see him going as much as featherweight and doing it.
“Tapales is not to be underestimated but how many times have we said that and he’s still gone out there and chinned him.”
Josh Taylor is aware of higher than nearly anybody what it takes to turn out to be an undisputed champion. The Scotsman achieved that feat at super-lightweight.
He is additionally fought on the identical card in Glasgow as Inoue. “He’s a great fighter and I’m a very big fan of him,” Taylor stated.
He considers Inoue to be at present probably the greatest fighters on this planet at any weight. “He’s got to be either No 1 or 2. There will be only two two-weight undisputed world champions [if Inoue beats Tapales].
“These two guys have gotten to take No 1 and No 2. Completely. You have positively received to have an argument whether or not it is him or Crawford.”
Todd duBoef, of Top Rank which promotes Inoue, believes the Japanese star has already established himself as the pound-for-pound best in the sport.
“It is onerous to not recognise him as pound-for-pound No 1 simply due to his physique of labor. He is all the time preventing one of the best on the market, whatever the weight division and he is a type of simply decided athletes,” duBoef told Sky Sports.
“I have been within the enterprise since 1993 and once I noticed all these guys arising, you could possibly simply see particular fighters.
“Whether it was Floyd Mayweather, whether it was Kostya Tszyu, whoever it was and he has that. He has that ability. He has that ‘it’ factor, where he’s got speed, power, IQ and just pure domination.
“I believe most individuals would say the Donaire battle, the primary one was a really aggressive, great battle. He received tagged early within the battle and fought in all probability at 60 per cent as a result of he had a damaged orbital socket and nonetheless dealt with him, but it surely was a terrific battle.
“He is a special, special fighter across the board,” he added. “His popularity in Japan is just unbelievable. We would love to have him in America but he is doing such wonders for the sport in that country.”
Opinion is break up between Inoue and Crawford as to who’s the pound-for-pound No 1.
“I think pound-for-pound lists are difficult. You’re as good as your last fight and it’s whose performance was the most outstanding recently. Everyone jumps on that. Crawford was sensational against Spence but in a way in terms of consistency, he [Inoue] is pretty much sensational every single time,” stated former world title challenger and Sky Sports activities pundit Matthew Macklin.
“He’s certainly in that conversation. I think most people would have him No 1 or No 2. I would say the general consensus is it’s between Inoue and Terence Crawford.”
Sky Sports activities commentator Andy Clarke reckons Crawford does have the sting on that entrance at current. “If Inoue beats Tapales, he’ll become undisputed in his second weight division but I would still put him behind Terence Crawford, I think because Crawford’s achievement of unifying at welterweight, I would put above Inoue’s at super-bantamweight,” Clarke stated.
“As a result of he beat [Errol] Spence and that was a large battle. I might put their achievement at bantamweight and super-lightweight comparatively even. So I’d give Crawford the sting over ‘The Monster’.
“I would still put Crawford ahead of Inoue 1703498354 because his win against Spence to unify at welterweight and the manner of it, given the opposition, will top Inoue unifying against Tapales.”
However that may be a staggeringly excessive bar and Inoue might definitely outshine Crawford in future, particularly if he strikes as much as one more weight class.
Inoue, Todd duBoef believes, can and can do exactly that. “Could he run through the 126lb division? I wouldn’t put anything past him. Probably,” duBoef stated.
“Depending on the ’30lber I think you could possibly put him in a ’30lbs match but I think he’s going to really cap out at 126lbs.
“For dimension functions, I am undecided we see Inoue above 126lbs.”
Winning titles there, in a strong featherweight division, would put Inoue at the very summit of the sport, although Oleksandr Usyk could join him and Crawford as a two-weight undisputed champion if he were to beat Tyson Fury in February.
Clarke noted: “It is all the time attainable in fact if Inoue strikes as much as featherweight, I believe all of us count on that he’ll, then perhaps he might eclipse [Crawford] by successful a world title in that weight division. There’s Usyk to think about as properly. If he beats Fury then he is proper up there.”
Matt Christie, editor of Boxing Information, stated: “It’s a difficult business predicting where a fighter will be ranked if they win in a fight that is yet to happen. I think in the case of Naoya Inoue, who we all know is a wonderful, talented and exciting fighter, even if he looks like I think he’s going to look on Boxing Day and wins in good style, at Boxing News we still will have Terence Crawford as the sport’s leading fighter.
“I believe for those who have a look at what he did in 2023, albeit in only one efficiency, within the victory over Errol Spence who for a very long time was thought to be Crawford’s closest rival, and lots of earlier than that battle thought that Spence would win, the style through which Crawford took him aside I believe units a really excessive benchmark within the sport that even Inoue in the intervening time cannot fairly match.
“But what we’re set for in the sport of boxing, with these two leading the way and potentially Oleksandr Usyk in February to join them is a sport that’s very, very healthy at the top.”
Watch Inoue vs Tapales stay on Sky Sports activities on the morning of December 26, the undercard from 8am, important occasion after 10am