Naoya Inoue will emphasize his superstar status when he takes on Louis Nery on May 6th at the Tokyo Dome for the undisputed super bantamweight title.
Formidable power puncher Inoue cleaned up in two fights at 122 pounds in 2023, stopping Stephen Fulton from winning the WBC and WBO titles before defeating the IBF and WBA and transferring his vaunted KO ability to a higher weight class. I showed that I did it. Marlon Tapales belt.
Nelly is the next man in line, an interesting dance partner who establishes himself as the production's bad body because he was previously banned from competing in Japan.
He returns to the Land of the Rising Sun, one of its most iconic venues. The 55,000-capacity Tokyo Dome hasn't hosted boxing since 1990, but it has become synonymous with boxing because of what happened there some 35 years ago.
James 'Buster' Douglas, a 42-1 underdog, famously fell off the canvas beaten down to stop Mike Tyson and win the world heavyweight title. It remains the most infamous of Iron Mike's career in terms of nights he didn't show his teeth.
clock: Naoya Inoue vs Luis Neri, exclusive to ESPN+
Currently, Tyson is an active member of the Inoue fan club. On a 2023 episode of his podcast HotBoxin', the heavyweight great lavished praise on “The Monster.”
“he [Inoue] He is the mean son of ab****. He's not very similar, but he's better than Manny Pacquiao,” Tyson said.
Comparisons to Pacquiao were instantly tongue-in-cheek, but that came before Inoue's clinical rampage at super bantamweight. As he prepares to exit in a venue fit for a true great, it's all too tempting not to ponder the fantasy matchups Tyson conjured up.
There are many immeasurables and intangibles, but one thing is certain: there will be no outsiders in this fight with 42 wins and 1 loss.
Pacquiao's status as one of the greatest boxers of the 21st century is largely due to his accomplishments in slightly higher weight divisions, particularly at welterweight as he became a mainstream pound-for-pound star. are doing.
However, Pacquiao's incredible career has seen him win titles across eight weight classes, starting at flyweight. Inoue is currently the champion in four weight divisions: light flyweight, super flyweight, bantamweight, and super bantamweight, and holds an undisputed position in the latter two weight classes.
Read more: Could Naoya Inoue become pound-for-pound No. 1 if he beats Lewis Nelly?
Partly because of the division Inoue currently reigns in, this week feels like a time to ponder a mythical showdown with Pacquiao. “Pacman” made his U.S. debut in the super bantamweight division in 2001, delivering a sensational performance on the undercard of Oscar De La Hoya's WBC super welterweight challenge against Javier Castillejo, defeating IBF champion Lero Ledwaba.
Pacquiao, who entered the ring as a late substitute for Enrique Sanchez, was clearly the underdog but dominated Ledwaba with ferocious force, decking him with a left hand in the second round and dropping him twice more. and stopped Ledwaba in the sixth round.
He defended the 122-pound title four times and then stepped up to defeat Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight. It was the beginning of Pacquiao's true legacy-building phase, starting a series of incredible fights against Barrera, Erik Morales, and his biggest rival, Juan Manuel Marquez.
So begins the story of Hall of Famer Pacquiao, but how will the tearful 23-year-old Pacquiao fare against Inoue and his fluid punching power?
Naoya Inoue vs Manny Pacquiao Who will win in the GOAT super bantamweight boxing matchup?
This battle is sure to see both men fighting fire-for-fire, deploying their weapons in completely different ways. Pacquiao's incredible skill, speed and volume threaten to overwhelm the more methodical Inoue in the first half of the contest. A thrilling first fight against Japanese hero Nonito Donaire and a brief struggle with Tapares' mid-round footwork last time out should be encouraging for the celebrated compatriot.
In some ways, it's easy to imagine a version of Pacquiao, who stopped Barrera and Morales, inflicting the same suffering on Inoue, but if we're talking about knockouts, we're in a monster house.
Of Inoue's 25 professional opponents, only three heard the final bell. The most recent of those, Donaire, was brutally sent off within two rounds of their rematch. There are warriors with the power to deal damage and end battles. Pacquiao was certainly one of them. And then there are the truly rare individuals like Inoue, who possess an ethereal means of destruction in their fists.
Inoue's power approaches this fantastic battle. Pacquiao had lost by knockout twice before defeating Red Waba, and was in danger because he had been down in the flyweight division for so long. An unheralded Filipino Rustico Torrecampo briefly knocked Manny unconscious with an overhand left, and things got worse when the players collided on the follow-through. Bonsai Sansrat crushed Pacquiao with body shots.
The super bantamweight version of Pacquiao looks great and would be a huge improvement compared to the elite opponents Inoue conquered. However, he was a little more wild back then, and Inoue's knockout ability sometimes prevented his ringcraft and sublime technique from gaining attention.
If that aspect of his game is on point, he could weather the Pacquiao storm. Inoue, that son of a sneaky ab****, is going to deal a hard blow to a man who showed himself to be unstoppable at that stage of his career.