Naoya “Monster” Inoue, who defeated IBF & WBA champion Marlon Tapares by knockout in the 10th round tonight, will defend his newly acquired and undisputed super bantamweight title for the first time, and next up is WBC 122-pound No. 1 contender Luis “Pantera.” “I’m in negotiations for my first title defense against Nelly. At Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Naoya might regret his decision to fight southpaw Neri for the rest of his life. He has the explosive power to stop the Japanese star and prove he’s biting off more than he can chew.
Inoue wasn’t feeling well at all tonight against Tapares. His powers didn’t do him any good and he didn’t look like the same fighter he did when he was fighting the little guys. Neri could do major damage to Inoue and end his pound-for-pound dreams.
Reason for Neri fight
It’s unclear why the 30-year-old monster Inoue wants to fight Neri (35-1, 27 KOs) instead of moving up to featherweight, but it may be to avenge the loss of his compatriot, former WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka. do not have. The Mexican slugger was easily knocked out twice in the early rounds in 2017 and 2018.
Southpaw Neri easily defeated Yamanaka, destroying him both times. It would be a dangerous fight for the 5-foot-5-inch Inoue against Neri, as his fight against Tapales (37-4, 19 KOs) wasn’t very good tonight.
Inoue was getting hit a lot by the glacially slow Tapares, but the Filipino slugger was lucky he didn’t take too many shots, which could have ended badly. .
Inoue, who chose to fight the 29-year-old Neri, who was stopped in seven rounds by Brandon Figueroa in 2021, doesn’t like the idea of the Japanese star moving up to featherweight to fight a dangerous puncher in that division. It suggests.
A threat to the featherweight division
- Rafael Espinoza: A 6-foot-1-inch fighter who defeated WBO featherweight champion LoBaci Ramirez. Espinoza (24-0, 20 KOs) throws more than 100 punches per round with superior power. He may be too much for the diminutive Inoue and crush him.
- Luis Lopez
- Winner of Otabek Khormatov vs. Raymond Ford
- Ray Vargas
If Inoue goes up to 126, he might regret it for the rest of his life because they will surround Naoya and give him nightmares. Inoue is getting hit too much right now, but he will be able to take the power of players like Luis Lopez, Otabek Khormatov and Vargas without crumbling.
Inoue reaching the ceiling?
Inoue’s decision to stay at 122 rather than move up to 126 is a clear sign that he is aware. he reached the ceiling And you don’t have the courage to keep stepping up to face fighters of equal or greater power and size than you.
We knew Inoue would reach a point where he didn’t want to move any higher, but surprisingly 122 is the number he can reach. Admittedly, Inoue got hit multiple times by the tough Tapares tonight, but that might have changed his mind.
What would the featherweight killers think if a painfully slow fighter like Tapares could slip past Inoue’s shots and get his hands on him? [126] What would you do to him? What will happen to Monster Inoue if the extremely powerful Luis Lopez and Otabek Khormatov start bouncing bombs off his jaw?
Inoue staggered in front of 38-year-old Nonito Donaire, who was in his prime. Lopez and Khormatov would be a nightmare for him.
What we saw tonight from Inoue is that his power is not the same at 122 as it was at 118, 115, 112, 108. Monster Inoue’s shots don’t have the same effect in super bantamweight as they do in other weight classes. Even more so if he moves up to 126 to fight a huge fighter in that weight class because that weight class has a much bigger size advantage over him.
