|
November 2011- Gifu, Japan (We think) Naoya Inoue (N/A) Vs Tosho Kashiwazaki (N/A) It's fair to say that right now, Naoya Inoue is the hottest thing in Japanese boxing and is one super flyweight that everyone seems to be excited about. For some fans however he seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly become a star. Those in Japan however knew he was something special from his days as an amateur an in 2011 he won the Japanese national title. On route to that title he over-came Tosho Kashiwazaki, in what we believe was the third meeting between two men. At the time this was a good win however it's become even better as Kashiwazaki himself has become a real force in the amateur ranks and competed at the 2013 World Amateur Championships whilst winning various other titles. [Note-If someone can correct us regarding which meeting this was we will be very thankful] (Video courtesy of sakana1976)
0 Comments
December 30th 2014- Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan Naoya Inoue (7-0, 6) Vs Omar Andres Narvaez (43-1-2, 23) Boxing is, at least in the west, an awful lot of hype. In the east however there is often substance behind the hype, and when a fighter is touted as something special they attempt to prove it quickly. That's always been the case with Naoya Inoue who won a world title in fight #6 and then attempted to create history by becoming a 2-weight world champion in just his 8th professional bout. Rather than picking up an easy title however Inoue skipped a division, aimed for the most seasoned champion in the Super Flyweight division, WBO champion Omar Andres Narvaez. If you've not seen this one yet, you really should now. Japanese wonder kid Naoya Inoue became the fastest Japanese champion when he stopped Adrian Hernandez. In his very next fight he became the fastest Japanese fight to defend a title as he retained his WBC Light Flyweight title and stopped Thailand's tough Samartlek Kokietgym. The bout, a mismatch from the day it was signed, was Inoue's farewell fight to the Light Flyweight division and although he was in charge it was obvious that the Japanese fighter wasn't his usual self. His defence was neglected as he attempted to entertain the fans and although he showed a lot of the brilliant offensive work that has made him fans world wide it really wasn't the showcase that he'd have been hoping for. Having struggled to make 108lbs, again, Inoue stated he was moving up to Flyweight for his next contest. We're expecting to see a more polished performance from the "Monster" next time out. (Note-fight starts at 15:00) (Video thanks to Boxers in Thailand World boxing - Boxing) When a young prospect bursts on to the scene we tend to follow their rise through the ranks with the knowledge that we could be in with a long wait until we see them fight someone with a pulse. That was never the case with Naoya Inoue who seemed to be on the fast track to the top from the day he fought his public test bout with Masayuki Kuroda.
In just his 6th bout Inoue stepped up to the plate and took on a man many viewed as the best Light Flyweight champion, WBC champion Adrian Hernandez. Hernandez was 2-time world champion who had been enjoying an 18 month reign going into this bout and had gone 8-1 in world title bouts. None of that helped him however against Inoue who showed that his skills were legit. The fight started excellently for Inoue who took the first 3 rounds with no problems and actually bust the eye of Hernandez who looked less like the champion and more like a novice pro. It wasn't until round 5 that Inoue looked under any sort of pressure but even then fought fire with fire and stood his ground as a desperate Hernandez put up a valiant challenge. By then though it really was the last act of a man who could feel his title slipping and in the following round Inoue showed that he has world class power by stopping Hernandez late in round 6. It wasn't just that Inoue had stopped Hernandez but had actually made Hernandez quit that was arguably the most impressive part of the fight. With the win Hernandez became the quickest Japanese fighter to ever win a world title, just 6 fights, breaking the previous record of 7 fights held by Kazuto Ioka. This lead to many fans talking up an Ioka/Inoue fight though at the moment that looks some way from happening. It's fair to say that if Japanese star youngster Naoya Inoue has struggled in a bout so far it was his bout with Ryoichi Taguchi for the Japanese Light Flyweight title. Amazingly since then he has looked nothing short of a spiteful and destructive fighter with fighting tenacity of a demon looking to dismantle opponents quickly and impressively. The first post-Taguchi bout that Inoue was involved in saw him taking on Filipino fighter Jerson Mancio for the then vacant OPBF Light Flyweight title. Mancio was supposed to be a good test for the 20 year old Inoue but in the end looked like a fighter completely out of his depth. In fact by the end of the opening round Mancio looked like he was in for a painful night. Inoue, in many ways, dropped some of the movement from his style for this fight, held his feet more and looked to get everything on his shots. This meant even the shots that hit the guard of Mancio seemed to force him backwards. It was little wonder, considering how nasty a lot of Inoue's shots looked, that Mancio was dropped early, going down in round 2. The Filipino then did well to survive the onslaught of Inoue who made it clear he didn't want to hear the final bell. Inoue made sure that Mancio didn't see the final bell though, to the credit of the Filipino, it did take until round 5 for Inoue to finally close the show as he began teeing off with power shots that forced the referee to step in. For those who spotted the young gentleman chewing gum at 10:20 that was Naoya's brother, Takuma Inoue, himself a very promising prospect. Earlier on the same show Takuma had made his debut and defeated Tatsuya Fukuhara. Having beaten Crison Omayao, the Filipino champion, on his debut and the Thai champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana, in his second bout Naoya Inoue took a huge step in bout #3 by taking on former Japanese title challenger Yuki Sano. Sano had, less than 2 years prior, taken Masayuki Kuroda to a split decision and it was expected that he would really test the young Inoue, especially considering he had never been stopped. Instead what we got was a bit of a masterclass by Inoue, who had seemingly become a star considering the huge reaction he was getting from the fans. Inoue started slowly though used his jab excellently to get a feel of Sano and quickly seemed to realise that Sano had no answer for his very educated jab that landed almost at will. As the fight progressed Inoue became more and more impressive effectively showing off every part of his game including some brutal straights, devastating uppercuts and a very sharp left hook. It seemed obvious by round 8 that if Inoue couldn't do it it wasn't worth doing. Whilst the first 2 performances from Inoue were amazing this one was breath taking and one of the combinations he threw late in the fight (around 37:02) may be one of the most beautiful things ever seen in a boxing ring. If you've never seen Inoue but want to know how good he is, this fight is probably the most complete of his performances so far. It's hard to argue with those who say Naoya Inoue's debut win over Crison Omayao was very impressive. For others however the true genius of Inoue wasn't visible until his second professional bout, a contest with Thailand's Ngaoprajan Chuwatana. Chuwatana had come to the ring with a 19 fight record, it wasn't particularly impressive with 10 losses and 9 wins but he had proven tricky to stop with Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, Ryo Miyazaki and Jonathan Taconing all going the distance with him and Katsunari Takayama taking 9 rounds to stop him. And he had also shown serious power with 9 stoppages, stoppages that had helped him win the Thai national title. The Thai's reputation as a tough and heavy handed fighter really didn't seem to help him and within 2 minutes if the fight starting Inoue landed one of the most perfect left hooks you are ever likely to see. It sent Chuwatana down like he'd been shot and although he showed amazing heart to get his feet he was unfit to continue as he stumbled for a few moments and forced the referee to stop the bout. When you see a super talent make their debut sometimes it can be clear that they are some special. That was certainly the case when we got to see the professional debut of Japan's sensational Naoya Inoue back on October 2nd 2012. Inoue had come with notable hype from the Japanese press though no one could have expected the youngster to have debuted in the way he did. Aged just 19 Inoue took on the Filipino Minimumweight champion Crison Omayao. Going in to the bout no one had stopped Omayao in in 21 bouts, including contests with Wanheng Menayothin, and Yuki Chinen, who had been taken 12 and 10 rounds respectively by the Filipino. Of course Inoue was no mere debutant and from the first round it looked clear the Japanese youngster was something special as he showed intelligent defence, fantastic accuracy and stunning body shots, something rarely seen in a young prospect. After several rounds of slowly chipping away at Omayao we then saw Inoue showing off his power as he actually went looking for a stoppage, a stoppage he would find courtesy of a sickening left hand to the mid-section on the inside. Since this loss Omayao has fallen badly with 2 losses, both by stoppages, and a draw in his 3 subsequent bouts. He'll be trying to stop the rot in the next few days when he battles Kosei Tanaka, another Japanese super prospect. As for Inoue, well the rest is history and just a few fights later he became the WBC Light Flyweight champion backing up the hype the Japanese press had given him prior to this contest. Every wonder kid prospect needs to be given a serious test at some point to see if they are the real deal or just smoke and mirrors. If a prospect isn't questioned whilst running up a nice looking record he leaves himself up to criticism and people will ask why he wasn't being developed. The first really serious test for Naoya Inoue came in his 4th fight when he took on the then Japanese Light Flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi and was forced to work incredibly hard to claim the first title of his professional career. The bout, which took place on August 25th 2013, was Taguchi's 21st as a professional, he entered as the Japanese champion and as a world ranked fighter but for Inoue he was a stepping stone, an opponent in his way on his journey to greatness. What we saw was a bout with both men looking to make a point. Taguchi was trying to say that he was one of the best in Japan and that he deserved a world title fight. Inoue on the other hand was tryign to prove that he deserved the hype and that he really was destined for great things. What we ended up getting was a very good bout that saw Inoue getting pushed very hard and having several flaws exposed though having the strength and ability to adapt and defeat Taguchi who proved his toughness despite the loss. If you've not managed to see this fight before it's really worth a watch just to see a fighter giving Inoue problems and just to see an opponent who could take Inoue's power and fight back. Typically exhibition bouts are done to help the fighters earn a little bit of extra money whilst also allowing them to keep sharp and in good fitness. They have become rarer in the west in recent years but they do still happen in various parts of the world, including Japan. One of the most notable recent exhibitions was at the recent "Fan Appreciation Day" as Ohashi gym stable mates Akira Yaegashi, the reigning WBC Flyweight champion, and Naoya Inoue, the current WBC Light Flyweight champion, put on an exhibition that was more entertaining than some recent world title bouts. The two men, who have sparred numerous times in the past, made sure to put on a show for the fans who showed their appreciation of the two men who ended the bout by just unloading on each other. If you've not seen this before it's something else and shows the mentality of both men as well as their gym chairman Hideyuki Ohashi who will have loved watching his two male world champions putting on a true exhibition. Enjoy! (Video courtesy of Gentidori) |
VideosHere we include some of the best, most interesting, most exciting or most eye catching videos from around the Asian boxing world. Archives
May 2024
|