One wonders how Naoya Inoue would be perceived in the U.S. if he were a native son.
The 29-year-old Japanese star has dazzled boxing fans almost from the time he turned professional in 2012, but from a distance for American and European fans. All but four of his fights have taken place in his native Japan, where he’s a superstar.
Inoue is fighting there once again in the early morning hours U.S. time Tuesday, when he’ll face fellow titleholder Paul Butler for the undisputed 118-pound championship in Tokyo (ESPN+).
If you appreciate near perfection, it will be worth staying up late or getting up early to watch.
Inoue is one of the greatest fighters of his generation, a blurry-quick, athletic technician who might be the biggest puncher in the sport pound-for-pound. That’s how he’s been able to destroy everything in his path, the exception being a meeting with Nonito Donaire in which he fought with multiple fractures in his eye socket.
“The Monster” knocked out Donaire in less than two full rounds in the rematch to set the record straight and underscore his place among the best fighters in the world.
The long-term numbers also support that obvious conclusion about Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs). First, world titles have been on the line for 18 of his 23 fights. He scored 16 knockouts in those bouts. He’s 9-0 (7 KOs) against current or former world titleholders. And the three-division champion is 8-0 (7 KOs) as a 118-pounder.
Only Donaire took him the distance in the aforementioned fight, which Inoue won by a clear decision.
Few in the sport have been as dominating as Inoue has. Cases could be made for Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis, who have some similar qualities and results to that of Inoue. However, no active fighter has a clear edge over him.
Butler (34-2, 15 KOs) is an accomplished, two-time bantamweight titleholder yet is as much as a 100-1 underdog on some betting websites. That’s how the boxing experts perceive Inoue – almost unbeatable.
The prohibitive underdog certainly knows what he’s up against on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely the biggest fight of my life,” Butler told ESPN. “I’m fighting a pound-for-pound fighter, and it’s probably the hardest job in boxing right now. But it’s a massive opportunity for me. I know I’ve got to be 100%, the best I’ve ever been, on the night with no slip-ups because he punishes any mistake.
“I’ve been preparing really hard. I know there are going to be sticky times during the fight. I’m not going to go the whole fight without him catching me, so I’ve been trying to work on the stuff he does really well.”
The problem is that he does everything really well. He typically makes his opponents look foolish with his natural gifts and refined ability before ultimately putting them to sleep.
And that process usually happens quickly. Ten of his 20 knockouts have come inside three rounds, including in two of his last three fights.
Of course, Butler is aware of all of the above. He would counter such facts by saying that everyone has vulnerabilities, including Inoue. He points to the first fight against Donaire as evidence of that.
“There are moments in the first Donaire fight where he does get caught,” the 34-year-old Englishman said. “He is human, he’s not a robot. I know he calls himself The Monster’ but he’s not a monster, this big beast. He showed vulnerabilities against Donaire in the first fight and I have to go out and find them and exploit them.
“In the second Donaire fight, the big gap between the fights helped Inoue, and if he catches you, he catches you cold and he’s a great finisher.”
Butler must think that way if he is going to have any hope of pulling off a monumental upset. Those who have followed Inoue closely the past several years will have found Butler’s words difficult to swallow.
They know that Inoue is as close to INhuman as it gets in boxing.
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