Naoya Inoue: record, next fight and profile →
WBC, IBF, WBA bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs) is looking to stamp his top-tier status as a pound-for-pound great by capturing the last remaining title - and then making a move up to super bantamweight.
Naoya Inoue needs no reminder that his gifts inside the ring would be wasted without someone – like Nonito Donaire – on whom he can test them.
Paul Butler was giddy with anticipation watching Naoya Inoue terrorize yet another opponent. Inoue, the Japanese dynamo, made mincemeat of future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire on Tuesday, stopping the Filipino veteran in two rounds of their 12-round, 118-pound title unification bout at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Naoya Inoue ensured that boxing judges couldn’t rob him when he stopped Nonito Donaire during the second round of their rematch Tuesday night in Saitama, Japan.
We’re not there yet. We got closer from Saturday night to Tuesday morning. There’s a showdown brewing and this is one of those times where having a fight or two more won’t hurt a thing. Naoya Inoue wants to finish his collection of straps at bantamweight. He has one to go. Stephen Fulton can add the two straps he doesn’t have at Jr. featherweight in one night. Fulton’s would be the tougher assignment.
Already the true lineal champion at bantamweight, Naoya Inoue wouldn’t mind sticking around to collect the division’s final chip. The unbeaten three-division champ added to his pound-for-pound accolades with a second-round knockout of Nonito Donaire in their rematch Tuesday evening local time at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Inoue now holds the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, having won the WBA and WBC belts from Donaire (42-7, 28KOs) in separate bouts.
Andre Ward wasn’t quite ready to elevate Naoya Inoue to the top spot on his pound-for-pound list Tuesday. As much as the ESPN analyst tried to avoid overreacting to Inoue’s annihilation of Nonito Donaire, Ward wouldn’t flippantly attribute the Japanese superstar’s success to Donaire’s age, either. Donaire is 39, but Ward considers the 29-year-old Inoue’s impressive performance during his second-round, technical-knockout win more reflective of Inoue’s greatness.
Nonito Donaire was never in this predicament before at any point in his illustrious career spanning three decades. Not even in his twelve previous rounds with Naoya Inoue did the former four-division champion experience a moment where he was separated from his senses in the ring. It happened near the end of the first round of their bantamweight title unification rematch, when Inoue landed a flush right hand to Donaire’s temple to floor the future Hall of Famer for the first of two times en route to a second-round knockout loss Tuesday in Saitama, Japan.
Inoue, Donaire Rematch Photos Gallery - Naoya “Monster” Inoue lived up to his nickname when he demolished Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire in two rounds at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. (photos by Naoki Fukuda)
WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler is ready and willing to face Naoya Inoue in an undisputed showdown - and the British boxer could care less where the fight takes place.