Naoya Inoue: record, next fight and profile →
Naoya Inoue is finished with the bantamweight division but is far from done with chasing history. The unbeaten three-division champ became the first-ever Japanese boxer to claim undisputed championship status in the three- or four-belt era following his eleventh-round knockout of Paul Butler. Inoue added the WBO title to his
Jr. featherweight, here he comes. That’s the assumption as the live and televised boxing weekend in the States finished its extra innings in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The now undisputed bantamweight champion, Naoya Inoue, strongly hinted before his latest knockout win that he was not long for 118 lbs.
Naoya Inoue raises his record in widely recognized world title fights to 19-0 (17 KO) and becomes the first fighter from the Pacific Rim to become an undisputed champion in the four-belt era by scoring a 10-count KO in round 11 over Paul Butler thanks to a powerful combination along the ropes.
Naoya Inoue was never going to be denied history. A one-sided march was capped with a highlight reel finish for Yokohama's Inoue, who scored an eleventh-round knockout of England's Paul Butler to fully unify the bantamweight division. A rapid fire combination willed Butler to the canvas, forcing the knockout finish at 1:09 of round eleven in their lineal/WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO bantamweight championship Tuesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. With the win, Inoue becomes the first fighter from Japan to claim undisputed status in the three- or four-belt era.
By Cliff Rold - The answer to the trivia question is Enrique Pinder. That’s the name of the last man recognized, by way of holding all available recognized sanctioning body titles, as undisputed bantamweight champion of the world. In July 1972, the Panamanian Pinder won a fifteen-round decision over Rafael Herrera for the WBA and WBC belts. The WBC stripped Pinder and Pinder lost the WBA title to Romeo Anaya in January 1973.
The ambitious start to his career was a firm indication that Naoya Inoue was destined for greatness. He now finally gets to chase history. The unbeaten three-division and reigning lineal/WBA/WBC/IBF bantamweight champ has soared to near the top of any
Paul Butler was ready to race straight to the top the moment he was able to secure even the slightest amount of leverage. For the two-time bantamweight titlist, it came in the immediate aftermath of Naoya Inoue’s repeat win over Nonito
By Corey Erdman - Naoya Inoue’s development into perhaps the best fighter on the planet today has been a long series of transformations. As a child, Inoue was boxing recreationally alongside his brothers, his father Shingo having moved on from his outstanding amateur career to focus on his painting business. It didn’t take long for Shingo to discover that the child he
Naoya Inoue overcame a brief scare to move forward in his quest to create history. The three-division and reigning lineal/WBA/WBC/IBF bantamweight champion needed two tries to make weight for his undisputed championship with WBO titlist Paul Butler. Both boxers ultimately hit the mark ahead of a fight that—barring a draw or No-Contest—will crown the first-ever undisputed champion in the three- or four-belt era.
Naoya Inoue Training Camp Photos Gallery - Paul Butler goes in search of boxing immortality in December when he faces Naoya Inoue for the undisputed world bantamweight title. (photos by Naoki Fukuda)