Comments Thread For: Rex Tso in Line For Title Shot With Naoya Inoue's Move To 118

[lolpz]

Someone seems angry. Inoue has mentioned wanting to fight on the SuperFly2 card provided he gets a unification bout. Yafai was interested in fighting on the SuperFly2 card. But when Inoue made an offer to him, he declined. Eddie Hearn came out with this fact on Twitter, not Inoue's team. I have no idea where this speculation that Inoue's team knew they would get turned down came from. Read the rest of the article. Yafai said he would do unification fights after the Ishida fight, not do more defenses in the UK. Yet he turned down a unification.

Also, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. You're saying that Inoue is ducking because of the high risk involved, yet wouldn't Yafai be doing the same thing by turning down Inoue? Same thing with Ancajas. Ancajas was offered a fight before the Conlan fight to unify on December 30. He declined. On SuperFly2, Ancajas was offered a fight provided Inoue got past Boyeaux with no injuries. He went with Top Rank instead. So isn't Ancajas ducking like Inoue supposedly is? Cuadras was ordered to fight Estrada. Gonzalez had a deal to unify with Inoue if he got past Rungvisai in their rematch, but lost by KO. (http://www.asianboxing.info/asian-ne...or-super-fight) Rungvisai decided to clear out his mandatory with Estrada because the WBC ordered it. Sure, Rungvisai could have unified with Inoue, but he chose to fight Estrada. This deal was made WHILE Inoue was looking for a defense on December 30. It's not that the WBC didn't allow it, it's that Rungvisai chose Estrada over Inoue because it was ordered.

Inoue is not willing to struggle to make weight anymore, as he was reporting issues nearing the end of 2016. In fact, Inoue's last fight was supposed to be his bantamweight debut, but he stuck around for the possibility of a unification. Alas, it never happened. Inoue vs Tete is more likely than a fight with Rungvisai. So no, Inoue isn't ducking. It's just that either every other top name is busy or turning down fights with him. Inoue and his team have never declined a fight since 2014. Never. Anybody who has known Inoue and the Super Flyweight scene since 2014 can tell you that.

Unification my a*s, these fighters fight for money and fame. The exposure and money sticking around and fighting ANY of the guys featured on the superfly tournament (not just a champion...) there's so many BIG names and good fighters to choose from. He didn't want to fight them if he's moving up.

You either fight for a world title, or a big name to make your resume look better and get more exposure. These fighters don't care who is more skilled than who, they want to fight the biggest fights possible. Those guys in the superfly tournament, those top 5 guys are all bigger names then Tete at 118.

That's like Sadam Ali choosing to fight Jeff Horn at 147 instead of Miguel Cotto at 154. Yeah you get a belt, but you won't get the same money nor exposure. Plus, both are winnable fights.

[Stynpine]

Unification my a*s, these fighters fight for money and fame. The exposure and money sticking around and fighting ANY of the guys featured on the superfly tournament (not just a champion...) there's so many BIG names and good fighters to choose from. He didn't want to fight them if he's moving up.

You either fight for a world title, or a big name to make your resume look better and get more exposure. These fighters don't care who is more skilled than who, they want to fight the biggest fights possible. Those guys in the superfly tournament, those top 5 guys are all bigger names then Tete at 118.

That's like Sadam Ali choosing to fight Jeff Horn at 147 instead of Miguel Cotto at 154. Yeah you get a belt, but you won't get the same money nor exposure. Plus, both are winnable fights.

Let me put it like this: Inoue has yet to reach his physical prime. He's 24 years old, and is a constantly growing fighter. He became a super flyweight champion at the age of 21, having to waste a year fighting only once due to a hand injury. He's growing out of the division after having been there for three years. Inoue needs to move on from the division.

From what I have seen, Inoue has negotiated with Gonzalez, Cuadras, McJoe Arroyo, Ancajas, Yafai, Concepcion, Kono, and Estrada. That's nearly every big name in the division. Rungvisai was owed a mandatory shot for the WBC belt since 2015, so he was biding his time. All of these negotiations with the exception of Kono fell through because of different priorities (Arroyo, Cuadras, Gonzalez) or because they outright don't want to fight him (Ancajas, Yafai, Concepcion). All of these offers were made when most of them were still champions at the time. Instead, Inoue had to go for mandatories and voluntaries. And even the mandatories didn't want to fight with Inoue! Tso and Conlan wanted nothing to do with Inoue, and Estrada wanted to fight Gonzalez, so he went the WBC route. Once again, I haven't seen any reports where Inoue turned down an offer against a big name. If you could find one, please let me know. I want proper sources that say Inoue is declining offers to fight big names. Quite frankly, it seems like the other way around. Inoue wants to fight the big names, but they keep avoiding him. It's been like that for the 2 years Inoue has been active at the division (I don't count 2015 because of the injury). I only cite the unification deal because that's what Inoue wanted for the end of 2017 or the SuperFly2 card. For the entire time Inoue has been in the division, only Gonzalez and Kono made an effort to fight Inoue. I remember when Gonzalez vs Inoue was seen as the superfight of the lower weight divisions. They both so badly wanted to fight each other. Alas, Gonzalez spent too much time trying to build his name up, and ended up losing to Sor Rungvisai twice. Those are the facts of the matter.

Do fighters want big names, regardless of the belt? Sure, of course. They are called prizefighters for a reason. Inoue has been chasing big names since 2016. Nobody would accept Inoue's offers. Inoue was running out of time to make a mark on the division because of weight issues, so he wanted a unification fight before he moved up. Gonzalez was planned, but he lost. Ancajas and Yafai ducked Inoue. Rungvisai is busy with Estrada. So Inoue moved up. Inoue has called out literally every big name in the bantamweight division, and is willing to travel to the U.K. to fight McDonnell, Burnett, and Tete.

The lower weight divisions aren't like the higher ones. Because these guys are smaller fighters, even a 3 lb. difference in weight is a big difference. That's why Gonzalez struggled so much at super flyweight. He is a smaller guy who started at the lowest weight available and is fighting against guys who rehydrate to lightweights. Inoue can't switch between super flyweight and bantamweight at will. Inoue moved up for a reason, and it's because of weight and issues getting a fight while Inoue could still make the weight. Inoue isn't ducking anybody.

[lolpz]

Let me put it like this: Inoue has yet to reach his physical prime. He's 24 years old, and is a constantly growing fighter. He became a super flyweight champion at the age of 21, having to waste a year fighting only once due to a hand injury. He's growing out of the division after having been there for three years. Inoue needs to move on from the division.

From what I have seen, Inoue has negotiated with Gonzalez, Cuadras, McJoe Arroyo, Ancajas, Yafai, Concepcion, Kono, and Estrada. That's nearly every big name in the division. Rungvisai was owed a mandatory shot for the WBC belt since 2015, so he was biding his time. All of these negotiations with the exception of Kono fell through because of different priorities (Arroyo, Cuadras, Gonzalez) or because they outright don't want to fight him (Ancajas, Yafai, Concepcion). All of these offers were made when most of them were still champions at the time. Instead, Inoue had to go for mandatories and voluntaries. And even the mandatories didn't want to fight with Inoue! Tso and Conlan wanted nothing to do with Inoue, and Estrada wanted to fight Gonzalez, so he went the WBC route. Once again, I haven't seen any reports where Inoue turned down an offer against a big name. If you could find one, please let me know. I want proper sources that say Inoue is declining offers to fight big names. Quite frankly, it seems like the other way around. Inoue wants to fight the big names, but they keep avoiding him. It's been like that for the 2 years Inoue has been active at the division (I don't count 2015 because of the injury). I only cite the unification deal because that's what Inoue wanted for the end of 2017 or the SuperFly2 card. For the entire time Inoue has been in the division, only Gonzalez and Kono made an effort to fight Inoue. I remember when Gonzalez vs Inoue was seen as the superfight of the lower weight divisions. They both so badly wanted to fight each other. Alas, Gonzalez spent too much time trying to build his name up, and ended up losing to Sor Rungvisai twice. Those are the facts of the matter.

Do fighters want big names, regardless of the belt? Sure, of course. They are called prizefighters for a reason. Inoue has been chasing big names since 2016. Nobody would accept Inoue's offers. Inoue was running out of time to make a mark on the division because of weight issues, so he wanted a unification fight before he moved up. Gonzalez was planned, but he lost. Ancajas and Yafai ducked Inoue. Rungvisai is busy with Estrada. So Inoue moved up. Inoue has called out literally every big name in the bantamweight division, and is willing to travel to the U.K. to fight McDonnell, Burnett, and Tete.

The lower weight divisions aren't like the higher ones. Because these guys are smaller fighters, even a 3 lb. difference in weight is a big difference. That's why Gonzalez struggled so much at super flyweight. He is a smaller guy who started at the lowest weight available and is fighting against guys who rehydrate to lightweights. Inoue can't switch between super flyweight and bantamweight at will. Inoue moved up for a reason, and it's because of weight and issues getting a fight while Inoue could still make the weight. Inoue isn't ducking anybody.

Tete fights in February. The Superflyweight card on HBO is also in February.

If Inoue can wait for Tete, he can wait for any one of those guys fighting on HBO.

I'm done going back and forth. Simplified it as much as I can. If he would have stayed for a unification against Yafai and Ancajas, he could have stayed to fight those guys too. Like I said before, there is no mention in the article about fights trying to be made wit the other guys, only Yafai and Ancajas, you see my point now - read between the lines.

"They have other obligations" lol.

[Stynpine]

Tete fights in February. The Superflyweight card on HBO is also in February.

If Inoue can wait for Tete, he can wait for any one of those guys fighting on HBO.

I'm done going back and forth. Simplified it as much as I can. If he would have stayed for a unification against Yafai and Ancajas, he could have stayed to fight those guys too. Like I said before, there is no mention in the article about fights trying to be made wit the other guys, only Yafai and Ancajas, you see my point now - read between the lines.

"They have other obligations" lol.

As I said, Inoue cannot make weight for the super flyweight division after the point of February. That's as simple as I can put it too. Ancajas is taking an easier path to fame, Yafai and Cuadras declined because of money, Gonzalez lost, and Rungvisai and Estrada are looking elsewhere. Meanwhile, Inoue is moving up and going to fight the toughest fighters at bantamweight (in theory, that's the plan). Personal preference here, but Inoue-Tete or Inoue-Nery are more interesting match-ups than against Rungvisai. They are not as big of fights, but I find it more intriguing and more 50-50 fights. Who knows? Rungvisai or Estrada may move up in weight to challenge Inoue and that could be aired on HBO.

And I'm done arguing here too. I don't feel like going through articles from a year ago just to please you. Inoue is a young fighter who has an interesting future ahead of him. There are chances for Inoue to get big fights down the line even if he doesn't fight the best of the super flyweight division. There are worse things going on in this sport right now, like the nonsense the WBA and WBC has been pulling recently.

[Vlad_]

Rex Tossing Poo will dominate.

[Zaroku]

I'm still disgusted by Inoue moving up from such a STACKED division. HBO would have forced the top guys to fight him.

He's claiming Yafai turned him down but the HBO guys would have had no choice but to fight him. I'm convinced this is a duck to not risk fighting one of those guys and possibly losing. No one can tell me otherwise.

I heard he was having a lil too much trouble making weight, and felt his power was good enough to move up.. Heard this at Teiken gym in Tokyo, and by his uncle who lives a few blocks away from me in Tokyo.