Naoya Inoue is considered one of right this moment’s prime boxing superstars. At present on a scorching streak and looking out unbeatable, he’s the undisputed tremendous bantamweight champion, holding all 4 belts (IBF, WBA, WBO, and WBC) from boxing’s main sanctioning our bodies. As he appears ahead to combating this December and extends his knockout streak to 10, let’s look again into Inoue’s seven greatest wins contained in the squared circle.
Who Is Naoya Inoue?
Naoya Inoue is considered one of this era’s greatest boxers from Japan. Early in his boxing profession, Inoue appeared promising and had 75 wins as an novice earlier than turning as a professional at 19. Two years into his skilled profession, he claimed his first world title, the WBC Mild Flyweight, stopping the champion within the sixth spherical.
He’s a four-division world champion and has conquered the (WBO) Tremendous Flyweight, (IBF, WBA, WBO, WBC, and The Ring) Bantamweight, and (IBF, WBA, WBO, WBC, and The Ring) Tremendous Bantamweight to turn out to be the undisputed at bantamweight and tremendous bantamweight division.
Now peaking at 31 years, he’s the unified tremendous bantamweight champion with 28 wins (25 KOs) and no losses underneath his belt. Inoue is among the many few who had been capable of unify the 4 world titles at a special weight class.
Inoue’s High 7 Wins
Each considered one of Inoue’s wins is a exceptional showcase of his talent, coronary heart, grit, and fixed growth as a fighter each time he steps into the squared circle. Beneath are a few of Inoue’s greatest wins.
1) Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire, UD And TKO (November 7, 2019 And June 7, 2022)
Inoue and Donaire have met on two events, with the primary one ending competitively and the second being a complete domination by the hands of Inoue.
The primary Donaire struggle is probably going probably the most formidable problem of Inoue’s profession. As difficult because the struggle could have been, it answered numerous questions boxing followers had about Inoue. This struggle proved that Inoue has the chin, the need to win, and the toughness to beat adversity, that are crucial elements a champion should have.
Regardless of struggling a fractured orbital bone and admitting to having double-vision in the course of the struggle, Inoue pressed on to outbox Donaire and even scored a knockdown within the eleventh spherical, going an entire 12 rounds of high-quality boxing exchanges and profitable through unanimous resolution on the scorecards. Each fighters confirmed their coronary heart on this struggle by ending robust, to the delight of the followers.
The second Donaire struggle for the Bantamweight World Title Unification was removed from aggressive and ended rapidly. After dropping his first struggle to Inoue, Donaire earned his title shot by knocking out an undefeated champion and beating a younger and upcoming contender in two world title fights. Inoue drastically improved since their first struggle and Donaire’s age can be slowly catching up at this level.
However, Inoue hunted Donaire down in the course of the match and even scored a knockdown on the finish of the primary spherical. He continued to complete the demolition job with a sequence of laborious pictures to the top and physique and completed the match midway by means of the second spherical, profitable the match by technical knockout.
2) Naoya Inoue vs. Omar Narváez, TKO (December 30, 2014)
The identical 12 months he received his WBC Flyweight Title, Inoue went on to skip a weight class, coming from flyweight as much as junior bantamweight. He discovered the WBO champion Omar Narvaez, who had been undefeated for some years and efficiently made 11 title defenses earlier than the struggle with Inoue. The younger Inoue scored an early knockdown 30 seconds into the struggle, adopted by one other a minute later. Inoue continued to batter Narvaez and ended the struggle earlier than the second spherical ended, profitable by TKO through physique shot.
3) Naoya Inoue vs. Jamie McDonnell, TKO (Could 25, 2018)
McDonnell is Inoue’s first struggle as a bantamweight for the WBA title. McDonnell was undefeated for a decade with a big weight benefit after rehydrating from the official weigh-ins. Mid-way by means of the match, Inoue landed a devastating physique shot by setting it up with a tough shot to the top, which resulted in a knockdown. Seconds after, Inoue stalked down McDonnell and rained down heavy punches, forcing him but once more to fall down the canvas, securing the TKO win. This match confirmed that Inoue is a pressure to reckon with and a expertise to look out for.
4) Naoya Inoue vs. Paul Butler, KO (December 13, 2022)
Inoue confronted Paul Butler, that point’s reigning WBO Bantamweight champion, for a title unification bout. All through the match, Inoue aggressively drove Butler to the ropes as he hunted him all the way down to arrange vicious physique pictures by throwing highly effective head punches that compelled Butler right into a excessive guard. Inoue received through TKO within the eleventh spherical, stopping Butler with repeated head and physique pictures.
After his win, he turned the primary undisputed bantamweight champion within the four-belt period and the one boxer to turn out to be champion, profitable the 4 main sanctioning organizations through knockout.
5) Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton, TKO (July 25, 2023)
Inoue’s win over Stephen Fulton is among the most spectacular performances of 2023. It’s a dominant show of boxing topped with a TKO in opposition to an undefeated champion in his prime. Throughout the match, Inoue saved throwing jabs at Fulton’s physique and stepped again, making a sample that made Fulton suppose it was all he was going to do. Inoue then throws the jab to the physique, opening Fulton up for a straight proper, which completely landed on the jaw when Fulton was unsuspecting of the setup and precisely blitzing Fulton down to finish the struggle.
6) Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales, KO (December 26, 2023)
Inoue’s win over Marlon Tapales is proof of his punching energy. Tapales held two belts on the time and fought a tough battle wherein Inoue exhibited his versatility on the highest degree, claiming the undisputed standing in a second weight class. Inoue’s energy appeared an excessive amount of for Tapales as he broke by means of his excessive guard and saved punching by means of it till it broke, knocking him out in such a devastating style.
7) Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery, KO (Could 6, 2024)
Inoue’s struggle in opposition to Luis Nery surprised boxing followers as Nery knocked down Inoue within the first spherical with a left hook. The knockdown fired Inoue up as he acquired again as much as his toes. He then knocked Nery down within the subsequent spherical and despatched him down as soon as once more within the fifth spherical earlier than ending the struggle within the sixth spherical with a proper hook. This was Inoue’s first struggle after he turned the undisputed tremendous bantamweight world champion.
Conclusion
With a touch of a doable transfer to featherweight, Inoue is ready to struggle as soon as extra in Japan later this 12 months earlier than heading to Las Vegas, the place he’ll doubtlessly struggle extra outstanding names. Transferring as much as the featherweight would imply leaving his super-bantamweight belts up. Who do you suppose Inoue ought to struggle subsequent?
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