Naoya Inoue: record, next fight and profile →
British prospect Shabaz Masoud will face French opposition when he makes his Probellum debut next month. The masterful Masoud will look to extend his unblemished record to 10-0 when he takes on the seasoned Yoann Boyeux (43-6) over 10 rounds as part of Probellum Evolution in Dubai on Saturday, March 19.
The 2019 fight of the year is moving closer to seeing a sequel. A bantamweight championship unification bout between WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titlist Naoya Inoue and WBC crownholder Nonito Donaire is currently in negotiations to be staged for April in Japan, Donaire promoter and Probellum CEO Richard Schaefer told BoxingScene.com in an interview on Monday.
It was another absolutely packed weekend for boxing with several strong main events, some memorable stoppages, and the foundation for some big clashes next year. The most notable action in the ring came at light heavyweight. Artur Beterbiev laid claim to history’s crown in 2019 and unified the IBF and WBC belts with an excellent stoppage of Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Beterbiev hasn’t had a chance to do much since. Defending against solid contender Marcus Browne on Friday, Beterbiev got to remind the world how good he can be.
On Tuesday in Tokyo, Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue retained his WBA and IBF bantamweight titles with an eighth-round stoppage over huge underdog and mandatory challenger Aran Dipaen of Thailand.
Naoya Inoue can now look forward to the super fights he has long craved. The unbeaten three-division titlist successfully defended his WBA and IBF bantamweight titles following an eighth round knockout of Thailand's Aran Dipaen. Inoue floored Dipaen midway through round eight, with a follow-up left hook forcing referee Michiaki Someya to immediately stop the fight at 2:34 of round eight.
Masataka Taniguchi got it right the second time around. The opening leg of a title fight doubleheader saw the WBO strawweight title change hands as Taniguchi stopped Wilfredo 'Bimbito' Mendez in the eleventh round Tuesday evening at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. The locally-based Taniguchi floored Mendez in round two and let his hands go along the ropes to force referee Nobuto Ikehara to stop the contest at 1:08 of round eleven.
Naoya Inoue understands the criticism surrounding his latest opponent selection. A desire to fight at home came with the decision by the pound-for-pound entrant and three-division titlist to accept the equivalent of a stay-busy affair in lieu of a blockbuster showdown. Just don’t expect Inoue to approach his voluntary WBA/IBF bantamweight defense versus Thailand’s Aran Dipaen (12-2, 11KOs) as anything other than the most dangerous challenge of his career.
Naoya Inoue is set for his homecoming, which comes right on time given current global circumstances. The unbeaten three-division titlist and pound-for-pound entrant will proceed with a voluntary defense of the unified WBA/IBF bantamweight crown versus Thailand’s Aran Dipaen. The matchup is among the two title fights taking place Tuesday at the famed Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, with WBO strawweight titlist Wilfredo ‘Bimbito’ Mendez set to defend versus locally based Masataka Taniguchi.
WBC Bantamweight World Champion and future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire scored a fourth-round knockout over previously unbeaten Reymart Gaballo to successfully defend his title in the Showtime televised main event Saturday night headlining a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) is hard at work, as he's preparing to make his next defense of the WBA and IBF bantamweight world championships.