By Jake Donovan
Naoya Inoue won't exactly return to the ring with a bang, but return to the ring he will.
Once again injury-free and ready to defend his place atop the super flyweight divsion, the unbeaten wunderkind is penciled in for a December 29 showdown with Warlito Parrenas in Tokyo, Japan. The bout will be his first since violently ending the reign of longtime 115 lb. champ Omar Narvaez last December, with his return to come exactly 52 weeks later.
The win over Narvaez gave Inoue his second title in as many weight divisions, jumping from junior flyweight to super flyweight and becoming a two-time champ inside of just eight pro fights. The feat was part of an ambitious ring campaign—including his 5th round knockout of top-ranked Adrian Hernandez to snatch the 108 lb. crown—which landed recognition by BoxingScene.com as 2014 Fighter of the Year.
Inoue paid the price of glory through physical pain, with an injured right hand keeping him off the shelf for nearly all of 2015. The 22-year old prodigy was forced to twice postpone his ring return, pushed back from May to August, and now to year's end.
The hope was that he would be able to squeeze in one fight and then wait out the result of World flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez' title defense versus former two-division champ Brian Viloria, which takes place October 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. American cable giant HBO has begun to showcase Gonzalez, and is keen on an Inoue-Gonzalez showdown, by far the biggest fight to be made in the lowest weight classes.
With Inoue now coming back in December, it's possible such a dream fight is put on ice for several months.
Parrenas (24-6-1, 21KOs) will fight for the second straight time outside of his native Philippines. He enters the title fight on the heels of a disputed draw with Carmona this past July in Mexico. The purpose of the fight - which came with an interim title at stake - was to establish a mandatory challenger for Inoue upon his coming off of injured reserve.
Instead, the fight ended in a stalemate, resulting in three potential scenarios:
- Carmona and Parrenas rematch, allowing Inoue an optional defense;
- Carmona faces Inoue, with Parrenas to get the winner should he win his next fight;
- Parrenas faces Inoue, with Carmona to get the winner should he win his next fight
All parties involved ultimately went with door number three.
On the bright side, it would give Gonzalez—provided he gets past Viloria, which is hardly a given—the chance to test the waters at super flyweight before taking on the very best in the division. It also gives Inoue a chance to truly enjoy his long-awaited return to the ring.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
