Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue has been one of the most dominant boxers in the world over the last decades but he has only dominated in some of the lightest weight classes. He is a two-division undisputed champion of both the Banthamweight and Super Benthamweight divisions. Last Monday, he defeated Mexican Luis Nery after he got dropped early in the fight. Getting dropped by ‘Pantera’ was a wake up call for Inoue that got him to deliver one of the most dominating performances of his career. Such dominance invites anybody to speculate on Inoues chances against other great boxers from slightly heavier weight classes. We are specifically talking about Gervonta Davis, who is the current king of the Super Featherweight and Lightweight divisions.
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There is always a frowned upon aspect of fighters from lower weight classes moving up to heavier tend to have a much harder time to win fights against their opponents. Inoue moving up a weight lass or two means he will finally get to challenge himself after dominating his usual weight classes. A perfect example of this is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who decided to risk it by moving up to Light Heavyweight to fight Dmitry Bivol and really struggled to keep himself composed. For Inoue, the challenge would be ultimate considering he is fighting Gervonta Davis, one of the scariest boxers in recent years. Boxing trainer Virgil Hunter is the on who speculated on Inoue’s next steps for his career.
Speaking to Fight Hype, Hunter said: “I don’t think Gervonta [Davis] should go below 135. I’m sure Inoue walks around at ’40, ’45 – 145. [Inoue would] have to come up just like everybody else. Where is the value of [Davis] coming to a catchweight to fight you? You’re big in Japan, and I’m big in the States. So there should not be any weight concession. ‘If you want to fight, come and fight me.’ Let’s not make any excuses. Rigondeaux fought Lomachenko; there was no catchweight involved. He dared to take that opportunity. [Rigondeaux] came up short, but he dared to take it. Charlo dared to fight Canelo at 168, coming from 154. So it’s only a few pounds north. You’re getting a little older. I’m sure you could carry the weight comfortably. So I wouldn’t make any concessions for that fight.”
