Naoya Inoue

Naoya Inoue (井上 尚弥) is a Japanese professional boxer.

Nicknamed "The Monster", Inoue is known for his timing, speed, punching power, and body-punching ability, having a knockout ratio of 90.4% in world title matches, which is the highest KO rate in the history of world title matches.

He is a four-division world champion, and only the second male boxer (following Terence Crawford) to become the undisputed champion in two different weight classes in the four-belt era.

He is the first boxer in history to defeat all four major sanctioning organisation champions by knockout.

He is the current, first, and only ever undisputed super bantamweight world champion, holding the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles since July 2023, and the WBA (Super), IBF, and Ring super bantamweight titles since December 2023.

Narváez had won his first world championship in 2002, making twenty-seven title defenses of his belts since.

Inoue arrived at the fight with a 7–0 record.

Inoue won the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting and the Japanese Junior National Championships in 2009.

In 2010, he took the bronze medal in the Asian Youth Championships in Tehran, Iran, and won the Japanese Junior Selection Tournament.

He then participated in the AIBA Youth World Championships, but lost to Yosvany Veitía in the third preliminary round.

He finished in the second place at the Japanese National Championships in the same year.

Asian Youth Championships (48 kg), Tehran, Iran, March 2010:

AIBA Youth World Championships (48 kg), Baku, Azerbaijan, April 2010:

In July 2011, he took the gold medal in the 21st President's Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

He subsequently won the first place in the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting in that year.

However, he was eliminated in the third round by Yosvany Veitía in the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, and lost to Birzhan Zhakypov in the final at the 2012 Asian Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.

His amateur record was 75–6 (48 KOs and RSCs).

President's Cup (49 kg), Jakarta, Indonesia, July 2011:

AIBA World Championships (49 kg), Baku, Azerbaijan, September–October 2011:

Inoue routed Kokietgym, winning every round on all scorecards and dropping his opponent twice before finally stopping him in the 11th round.

His one loss had come by decision to Nonito Donaire in 2011.

Asian Olympic Qualifier (49 kg), Astana, Kazakhstan, April 2012:

Inoue turned professional in 2012, signing with Ohashi Boxing Gym.

Of his own volition, he signed an agreement with Hideyuki Ohashi to never fight against easy opponents.

On 2 October 2012, he fought against Filipino national champion Crison Omayao, and won his debut via a fourth-round knockout.

After this victory, he won his next two fights against Thai national champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana and Japan's number one-ranked light flyweight boxer Yūki Sano.

On 25 August 2013, Inoue captured the Japanese light flyweight title from the WBA's number three-ranked contender, and future WBA, IBF, and Ring magazine light flyweight champion, Ryoichi Taguchi.

This was seen as Inoue's toughest test thus far but in the end he dominated and battered Taguchi over ten rounds.

He then fought for the vacant OPBF light flyweight title on 6 December 2013 on the undercard of Yaegashi-Sosa.

Inoue defeated Jerson Mancio with a 5th-round TKO to claim the regional title.

Earlier that day, his younger brother, Takuma Inoue, made his professional debut with a unanimous decision victory.

Inoue stopped Adrián Hernández (29–2–1, 18 KOs) to be crowned the WBC light flyweight champion in his sixth professional bout at Ota-City General Gymnasium on 6 April 2014.

Hernández was a two-division champion who had previously gone 8–1 in world title bouts, but Inoue dominated the fight from beginning to end.

Inoue's sole defense of his light flyweight title came against Samartlek Kokietgym (17–5, 5 KOs) in September 2014.

In November 2014, he vacated his light flyweight title to challenge WBO junior bantamweight title-holder Omar Andrés Narváez (43–1–2, 23 KOs), the fight was scheduled for 30 December 2014.

He previously held the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title from 2018 to 2019, the WBO super flyweight title from 2014 to 2018, and the WBC light flyweight title in 2014.

As of March 2024, he is ranked as the world's second best active boxer, pound for pound, by The Ring, Boxing Writers Association of America, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), ESPN, and third by BoxRec.

He is also ranked as the world's best active super bantamweight by The Ring, TBRB, ESPN, and BoxRec.

He is the only Japanese fighter in history to be ranked No. 1 pound for pound by The Ring, and was named Fighter of the Year in 2023 by the ESPN, The Ring and Boxing Writers Association of America.

He is also the former undisputed bantamweight world champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, and Ring magazine titles between 2019 and January 2023, and the WBC and WBO titles between 2022 and January 2023.