The bantamweight division contains good fighters, but no one truly caught the attention of Naoya Inoue. During his time there, the 30-year-old Japanese native effortlessly blasted through his competition while barely breaking a sweat.
Currently, the pound-for-pound stars’ proudest moment came just a few short months ago. In the final month of the year, Inoue, who already held the IBF, WBA, and WBC bantamweight titles, ripped away the final piece of his undisputed puzzle from the carcass of Paul Butler.
There was no one left to fight, and more importantly, nothing left to win. So, with Inoue seeking new challenges, he opted to move up in weight and brazenly challenge arguably the best super bantamweight in the world in Stephen Fulton.
Ultimately, it took Inoue roughly four years before he was able to aggregate every major world title at 118 pounds. Doing so is something he’s proud of but the protracted amount of time it took Inoue to achieve his goal left him vexed. With the Japanese megastar looking to repeat his undisputed status four pounds north, he hopes that he’ll be able to expedite the process this time around.
“I want to be undisputed champion by the end of the year,” said Inoue to Top Rank Boxing.
Though he’s as ambitious as ever, Inoue isn’t attempting to run before he can walk. This Tuesday morning, in his hometown of Japan, Inoue and Fulton will officially face off with Fulton placing his WBO and WBC super bantamweight titles on the line.
Even if Inoue finds a way to snatch Fulton’s crowns, he’ll still be two titles short of his goals. Those very belts are currently being held hostage by Marlon Tapales. Ironically enough, the 31-year-old has boarded a flight, stamped his passport, and will be sitting ringside in the hopes of fighting the winner.
Traditionally, collecting every major world title in a given weight class is a painstakingly long process. Inoue, nonetheless, simply hopes that he’ll be able to speed up that leisurely task.
“That is something I really want to do.”
By Hans Themistode