Is Naoya Inoue The Most Skilled Fighter Ever?

[Naoya Inoue]

Chin is up for debate... Donaire had him seeing stars & broke his orbital bone with a single left hook and Nery was able to drop him with a single shot. Elite skilled fighters know how to ride shots to take the sting off or in the correct position to minimise any potential damage.

Meh, it happens.

Nonito caught him early in the second round and broke his orbital bone. Inoue himself said the punch didn't hurt — it just caused damage because boxing. That set up later punches that landed due to compromised vision. The nuclear right hand in the 9th round should have ended Inoue as it would have ended anyone. Inoue buckled and recovered seconds later.

For the Nery fight, Inoue said he wanted to make a statement and even said during the lead up that it could be an early night. Plus he was partially tripped. But he got up at 7, eyes clear, clinched, circled, and then countered Nery 3X whilst against the ropes as Nery tried to finish him.

Inoue's chin is elite.

[Naoya Inoue]

I agree that Inoue should take it easy in 2026 and fight only 2X.

[Elastic Recoilz]

Meh, it happens.

Nonito caught him early in the second round and broke his orbital bone. Inoue himself said the punch didn't hurt — it just caused damage because boxing. That set up later punches that landed due to compromised vision. The nuclear right hand in the 9th round should have ended Inoue as it would have ended anyone. Inoue buckled and recovered seconds later.

For the Nery fight, Inoue said he wanted to make a statement and even said during the lead up that it could be an early night. Plus he was partially tripped. But he got up at 7, eyes clear, clinched, circled, and then countered Nery 3X whilst against the ropes as Nery tried to finish him.

Inoue's chin is elite.

It does happen and is to be expected BUT there are a select few who have been seriously cracked and never gone down. Guys like Usyk, Bivol, Breidis, Vitalli Klitschko, GGG, Hagler, Marciano as well as having exceptional skills also have/had elite chins. Time will tell with Inoue but I'm sceptical as we've already seen him down at 122lbs so I'd imagine the chances of him going down at featherweight should increase just like when Loma went up to lightweight fighting bigger guys.

PS I deliberately omitted Canelo from that list of fighters never to be knocked down because the ropes kept him up after getting clipped by Cotto's brother - had the ropes not been there he would've been on the canvas but obviously the ref turned a blind eye!

[Naoya Inoue]

It does happen and is to be expected BUT there are a select few who have been seriously cracked and never gone down. Guys like Usyk, Bivol, Breidis, Vitalli Klitschko, GGG, Hagler, Marciano as well as having exceptional skills also have/had elite chins. Time will tell with Inoue but I'm sceptical as we've already seen him down at 122lbs so I'd imagine the chances of him going down at featherweight should increase just like when Loma went up to lightweight fighting bigger guys.

PS I deliberately omitted Canelo from that list of fighters never to be knocked down because the ropes kept him up after getting clipped by Cotto's brother - had the ropes not been there he would've been on the canvas but obviously the ref turned a blind eye!

He's in his fifth weight class.

[IceTrayDaGang]

boxing camps are usually 6 to 8 weeks so thats training for about a third of the year give or take, not the whole year. i do take your point on sparring which should be limited in general, but my overall point is to have the same amount of fights during your prime instead of stretching out your career over say 2 decades canelo/floyd style because the back half is just a bunch of BS fights and obvious cherry picking. also fighting 3 times a year during your prime will probably keep a fighter sharper in the ring and lead to better performances, yes they might take a bit more wear and tear but like i said we dont need octogenarians in there clogging up boxing when they shouldnt be the stars anymore but that hold on fame is a tantalizing one.

it's basically training thru out the whole year... i never said he's training every single day... but he fights 3x a year... he just fought in Jan.. and is planning on fighting again in June.. so in April, he'll start training again for the june fight.. then his 3rd fight is set for Sept.. so after june, he'll be in training again in July for his sept fight. and he's looking to fight in December also, so after his sept fight, he'll be in training come October.. That's pretty much training thru out the whole year.

[El_Mero]

Talented af, is doing what we wish most, if not all, fighters would do but he is not the most skilled. Still 1b to Usyks 1a p4p

[Naoya Inoue]

i didnt mention anything close to this... and he has 3 fights this year, it's not like they are all against TOP contenders.. so this goes back to my point... he's fighting 3 time this year but it's not against top level fighters. so he's putting wear and tear on his body for fights that arent consider big fights...

all im saying is, maybe fight 2 x a year... fight once at the beginning and another one towards the end... this way he has time to fully recover... fight twice for a few years and then if he wants to do 3 x a year, he can go back to it but he needs some rest before going back to fighting 3 x a year.

Picasso, Nakatani or MJ, and Nick Ball — this is an insane run, guy.

[TheProudLunatic]

"Ever"

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