Naoya Inoue

Throughout the history of Japanese boxing the most promising youngsters have been matched hard as they attempt to reach the top quickly. Fighters like Satoshi Shingaki, Kazuto Ioka and Tatsuyoshi Joichiro have all fought for (and won) world titles in their first 10 bouts. The idea seems foreign to many western fans who have seen fighters rack up 20 or 30 wins before fighting someone of note though it helps keep boxing in Japan so exciting to follow, you just know when there is a top prospect out there they won't be protected for years.
One fighter who is followed in that trend of being fast tracked to the top is youngster Naoya Inoue (10-0, 8) [井上 尚弥] who is widely tipped as the most promising boxer in a generation.
Aged just 19 when he turned professional Inoue was immediately tipped as a world champion in the making and seemed blessed with all the qualities any fighter could wish to posses. From his debut it was clear that he had solid fundamentals, great power, incredible speed, a brilliant boxing brain and almost innate ability to pick the right shot at the right time. As we all know all those qualities are incredibly rare, and to see them all in one fighter is almost unheard of, especially one as inexperience and young as Inoue was when he first showed those traits.
A big part of Inoue's promise comes from his amazing amateur pedigree that saw him running up 75 wins against 6 losses with an excellent 48KO's. This included victories not only nationally but also in major international tournaments. As a Junior Inoue competed at the 2010 Asian Youth Championships (where Inoue reached the Semi Final) and the 2010 Youth World Championships (where he reached the last 16). The as a Senior he showed his class in even more impressive fashion winning the 2011 President's Cup, reaching the last 16 of the 2011 World Amateur Championships and losing in the final of the 2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers.
Whilst some fans may ask "where were the major international tournament wins?" Those same fans need to realise that amateur boxing in Japan isn't the same as it is elsewhere and very few Japanese amateurs have major international success. Inoue's lack of Olympic and World Amateur gold medals were partly the fact Japanese amateurs don't have great success and partly due to the fact he was so young when he turned professional. Had he remained amateur until 2016 there is every chance that he could have claimed a medal in either the 2016 Rio Olympics or the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty. Instead of continuing as an amateur Inoue turned professional signing with the Ohashi boxing Gym.
One fighter who is followed in that trend of being fast tracked to the top is youngster Naoya Inoue (10-0, 8) [井上 尚弥] who is widely tipped as the most promising boxer in a generation.
Aged just 19 when he turned professional Inoue was immediately tipped as a world champion in the making and seemed blessed with all the qualities any fighter could wish to posses. From his debut it was clear that he had solid fundamentals, great power, incredible speed, a brilliant boxing brain and almost innate ability to pick the right shot at the right time. As we all know all those qualities are incredibly rare, and to see them all in one fighter is almost unheard of, especially one as inexperience and young as Inoue was when he first showed those traits.
A big part of Inoue's promise comes from his amazing amateur pedigree that saw him running up 75 wins against 6 losses with an excellent 48KO's. This included victories not only nationally but also in major international tournaments. As a Junior Inoue competed at the 2010 Asian Youth Championships (where Inoue reached the Semi Final) and the 2010 Youth World Championships (where he reached the last 16). The as a Senior he showed his class in even more impressive fashion winning the 2011 President's Cup, reaching the last 16 of the 2011 World Amateur Championships and losing in the final of the 2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers.
Whilst some fans may ask "where were the major international tournament wins?" Those same fans need to realise that amateur boxing in Japan isn't the same as it is elsewhere and very few Japanese amateurs have major international success. Inoue's lack of Olympic and World Amateur gold medals were partly the fact Japanese amateurs don't have great success and partly due to the fact he was so young when he turned professional. Had he remained amateur until 2016 there is every chance that he could have claimed a medal in either the 2016 Rio Olympics or the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty. Instead of continuing as an amateur Inoue turned professional signing with the Ohashi boxing Gym.
As a professional Inoue debuted in late 2012 and stopped former Filipino champion Crison Omayao in the 4th round of a scheduled 8 round contest. Whilst 8 round contests aren't unheard of for debutants they are incredibly rare and it was clear evidence of just how confident his team were that he had all the tools to go straight to the top.
Inoue would add his second professional victory just 3 months later as he took out former Thai national champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana inside a round, a feat that was hugely impressive when you consider that Chuwatana had taken Katsunari Takayama 9 rounds and Jonathan Taconing 12 rounds. It was even more impressive in that the shot Inoue stopped Chuwatana with was a perfect counter left hook as he was stepping backwards, reminiscent of the shot that Sugar Ray Robinson landed on Gene Fullmer. In April 2013 Inoue scored his 3rd professional victory as he put on a showcase against former Japanese title challenger Yuki Sano. On paper this was a very tough and brave step up from Inoue's team, though it turned into a one sided master class by Inoue who's left hook and jab dominated the bout from start to end. Although Sano proved to be a brave fighter rising from 2 knockdowns and continuing with a cut eye he simply couldn't deal with Inoue's skill, speed or technique and he was stopped in the final round after Inoue started to turn the screw. Amazingly this 10 round bout saw Inoue triple his career rounds which stood at just 5 prior to the Sano bout. The bout, whilst a show case of his abilities did come with a negative, Inoue damaged his right hand which effectively saw him fighting one handed, something he did exceptionally well. In his first title bout Inoue out fought the world ranked Ryoichi Taguchi to claim the Japanese Light Flyweight title and one step close to a world title bout. The bout with Taguchi was by far Inoue's toughest to date as Taguchi really tried to do his best to upset Inoue. Although Inoue won his stoppage run came to an end and he was forced to hear the final bell for the first time in his career. Despite hearing the final and being forced to work hard for the win Inoue did clearly deserve the decision and the judges all agreed giving Inoue a clear unanimous decision. Despite having fought hard for the Japanese national title Inoue quickly vacated without making a single defence to chase the OPBF title. Although the step up from Japanese to OPBF title is usually a big one Inoue made it look incredibly easy as he destroyed Filipino foe Jerson Mancio in just 5 destructive, and 1-sided, rounds. The fight did see some recklessness from Inoue though it was clear he was out to make an impression and he did just that in sensational fashion as he moved to 5-0 (4) and turned his attention to a world title fight. Having won both the Japanese and OPBF titles in his first 5 fights Inoue was then given the massive task of winning a world title in just his 6th professional contest. Amazingly he was up to that challenge as he stopped the then WBC Light Flyweight champion Adrian Hernandez in just 6 rounds to claim the title. This victory means that Inoue, at just 20 years old, is the quickest Japanese fighter to win a world title and despite having only fought 36 professional rounds he already looks like one of the most complete professionals in the sport right now. Although he had looked sensational against Hernandez we saw Inoue looking like a man who gets bored in his first defence as he beat down Thailand's Samartlek Kokietgym in 11 rounds. The bout was a big step down from his previous contest and it seemed that Inoue ignored his defensive skills in an attempt to entertain the fans. Thankfully however it seems that Inoue knows he needs bigger challenges to get up for it. Thankfully he got that bigger challenger in his 8th professional bout as he jumped straigth to Super Flyweight and took on Argentinian veteran Omar Andres Narvaez, the then reigning WBO Super Flyweight champion. Narvaez had only been beaten once in 46 bouts, a decision loss to Nonito Donaire, but Inoue brushed him aside as if he was a journeyman dropping him 4 times en route to a 2nd round KO. It was a demolition job on a tough, experienced and cagey fighter and it was also a record setting one with Inoue becoming the fastest fighter in history to 2 world titles, taking just 8 fights and making himself the clear front runner for 2014 Fighter of the Year. Sadly for Inoue 2015 was a frustrating year with a hand injury that essentially wasted a year of his career. When he did return to action, in the final days of 2015, he looked as good as ever destroying Filipino challenger Warlito Parrenas in 2 rounds. The performance saw Inoue look as if he hadn't missed a beat despite spending close to 12 months out of the ring. It was a frustrating year for both the fighter and his fans but one that ended brightly. Although 2015 was close to a write off for the Japanese youngster 2016 has been a better year. It began with Inoue being forced to go 12 rounds in a mandatory defence against David Carmona, doing the 12 round distance for the first time in his career. Although he did struggle at times during the bout it was revealed that he had, once again, had trouble with his right hand which was left badly bruised during the fight with Carmona. That injury wasn't as bad as the one suffered against Narvaez and he is now just a few weeks away from facing Petchbarngborn Kokietgym. After just 10 fights it may seem early to declare Inoue as one of the modern greats but in terms of natural ability he really does look sensational. Although he's not flawless he looks like the type of fighter who can get away with his flaws. For example some defensive issues are easy to excuse due to the fact he has an excellent chin and despite eating the odd big shot from Adrian Hernandez he never looked in any real difficulty with the experienced Mexican champion however against Narvaez he put on a punch perfect performance to dismantle a very good fighter. As well as the incredible success of Naoya it seems likely that his younger brother, Takuma Inoue, will also be heading for great success. Takuma was world ranked after just 2 fights and there is no doubting that he too will have major success under the guidance of Ohashi gym and father/trainer Shingo Inoue, just Naoya's cousin Koki Inoue who also looks like a very promising young fighter. (Image above courtesy of http://boxteam-inoue.com and shows Naoya celebrating his world title triumph, Naoya is on his father's shoulders.) The video below, shows Inoue debut against Omayao is thanks to BoxingVideoGuide. |
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