It was business as normal for Naoya Inoue, as he routed game Mexican Alan Picasso on the scorecards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The best junior featherweight in the world won on all three scorecards by 119-109, 120-108 and 117-111. That final scorecard was flattering to Picasso because it was hard to score a round in his favor such was Inoue’s control and dominance through all 12 rounds in their bill-topping fight.
Inoue said afterwards his performance was not good enough and he should have done better.
He was asked if he would fight Junto Nakatani next year, after Nakatani controversially won on the undercard.
“Both of us had a very good win tonight, so for the next year, we will decide what to do,” Inoue replied. “But for the Japanese fans, you should expect something very good.”
The first round was quiet and comparatively exploratory given the fireworks that had come in the previous fight between Nakatani and Sebastian Hernandez.
A minute into the second, however, Inoue was doing Inoue things, landing a smart counter right hand that seemed to instantly earn the Mexican’s respect.
Picasso targeted Inoue’s body and Inoue fired combinations that saw him work his opponent up and down.
Picasso landed a left hook but in doing so invited Inoue to crack him with a couple of straight punches.
“Don’t stand in front of him,” warned Picasso’s corner going into the third.
Picasso was not overawed.
Inoue was accurate and both tried to establish their jabs in the third.
Inoue replied to a pair of left hooks with consecutive right hands and he was in charge. Picasso held his hands high to take shots on the gloves and tucking his elbows in shield his body but there were signs in the fourth that the brilliant Inoue was going to go through the gears.
A Picasso left hook into Inoue’s side registered, but the challenger’s output was dropping and his early ambition had been checked.
The gap between the fighters widened in the fifth. Inoue was throwing more and making Picasso miss more.
After Inoue landed a couple of right hands and worked the body, he dropped his hands to encourage Picasso to go after him, but understandably the Mexican was becoming more reluctant.
A relaxed Inoue came out smoking in the sixth, trapping Picasso on the ropes and blasting him with both hands and as the round progressed Inoue was able to puncture Picasso’s guard with occasional shots. If Inoue threw five shots, he might have scored with two, but he looked every bit as sharp as he had in the first round.
It is through the middle rounds when so many fighters have struggled to hang with “The Monster”, and Picasso clearly felt a body shot – a left hand – near round’s end.
Picasso’s corner said they needed to work out Inoue’s feet, step up their pressure and to throw left hooks.
But Inoue’s handspeed gave him such a headstart in the exchanges and Picasso couldn’t catch up. The rounds were similar. Inoue – boxing within himself – was fast, powerful, accurate and imperious. Picasso wouldn’t go quietly, but he couldn’t snap Inoue’s flow. He withstood a rib-crunching left hand in the eighth, too.
Inoue switched his focus in the ninth, targeting the body, and it worked to the extent that Picasso’s work started to look ragged.
Before the 11th, Picasso was told the next six minutes were the most important of his life, but the fight had been decided by the previous 30.
Inoue, looking fit and explosive as ever, didn’t slow. He didn’t go all-out, he didn’t need to, but he kept his foot on the gas enough to make sure Picasso would finish in a very clear second place.
The Mexican kept trying. He scored with some left hooks in the last but in return absorbed some terrible lefts to the body and stayed upright, spitting out defiance in straight shots at the bell.
It was a polished display from one of the sport’s very best fighters, who is now 32-0 (27 KOs) and it marked Inoue’s fourth win of a prolific 2025 following victories over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Ramon Cardenas and Ye Joon Kim.
It also saw Inoue go to the scorecards in consecutive fights for the first time in his career as Picasso fell to 32-1-1 (17 KOs).
Of fighting four times this year, the 32-year-old Inoue said: “I’m really tired. I think I will rest for a while. I’m going to be much better next time.”
