Naoya "Email PFP King" Inoue and his place among the least deserving PFP 1s.

Remarkably, over the the last 3/4ths of year, Naoya Inoue has catapulted himself atop the PFP rankings....Well, actually he didn't. He climbed two spots because a superior and more accomplished fighter retired and another, who's pushing forty, finally started to look long in the tooth.

Thus, let's see where he ranks among the least qualified PFP 1s:

1. Lomachenko--The GOAT of undeserving PFP 1s. IDK what he did to become PFP 1 and I'm not going to figure it out. We were told not to count the Salido loss even though he had sufficient pro experience in the World Series of Boxing. His win column is mostly forgettable+a win over a green Gary Russel. Conveniently vanished when Tank Davis wanted to fight him.

2. Shane Mosley--The Ring had some sort of lovefest with guy because he was midway up the PFP top 10 before he even fought Oscar. He looked great against mediocrities and then got anointed by beating Oscar in what can only be described as a much better win than anything Inoue has logged. It turned out that everyone jumped the gun and he was a roidhead who couldn't deal with patient technical boxers.

3. Bernard Hopkins--Hopkins got the top spot after Shane inevitably got schooled by Vernon Forrest. His career at that point consisted of a long, but average, reign at 160 capped off by a decent win over Keith Holmes and another over Tito, who was wildly overrated at 160. Inoue's career, of course, is far behind the final ledger of Hopkins' career.

4. Roman Gonzalez--Basicially, a tiny guy DEI case who got promoted after Floyd retired and Wlad lost. His career consisted of a pair of wins over Estrada, a win over Viloria, and some title defenses against guys none of have heard of.

5. Inoue--The hype with this guy was so intense that, long ago, people started counting stats such as trinkets and title defense for him while carefully avoiding naming the actual humans he fought (notably, he existed in a loaded 115 division but didn't fight any of the talent there). He then fought a known guy in a late thirties Donaire who hadn't won a notable fight in ages (other than a fluke when Burnett threw his back out) and got busted up badly, but escaped with a win. The cheerleaders later tried to claim was PFP 1 material for winning a home game against a featherfisted and limited fighter in Stephen Fulton. He then continued against forgettable opponents, getting dropped hard here and there, before finally fighting MJ. The warrior didn't show up that night and Inoue left with his title in a performance that resemebled a miniature version of Tommy Morrison vs. George Foreman.

After all that, he finally got his chance to really prove he belonged when he signed up for the biggest fight in Japanse history against Nakatani. Nakatani was a very good fighter who was gracing PFP lists (for reasons that nobody here has ever been able to explain despite my repeated questioning). Surely, this would be Inoue's moment to shine. And, on that special night...Inoue looked kind of vulnerable and limited but escaped with a close win. Then Usyk finally looked old and Inoue became PFP 1. The end.

@Flo_Raiden

 

Various scenarios could happen:
1. Shakur is the best fighter in the sport and needs the big fight(s) to get him there.
2. Usyk probably won't regain his spot, but crazier things have happened.
3. Bam is capable and needs the right fights.
4. Espinoza could terrorize various divisions.
5. Inoue could win notable fights and prove to be more than a placeholder.

 

He’s deserving of the spot. Deserving via more accomplished fighters retiring and getting old.

 

You can't even name most of the guys who Inoue beat. And for the ones who you can name, you're unable name who they beat. It's okay though; we're all having the same issue.

Canelo's resume is outstanding and you have a bone to pick for reasons I don't understand.