‘Monster’ Inoue may move up to featherweight division ahead of schedule

‘Monster’ Inoue may move up to featherweight division ahead of schedule
Sep 02, 2023

Newly crowned World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘’the Monster’’ Inoue of Ohashi Boxing Gym said after attending a special program of a satellite broadcasting station as a guest on Sept. 1 he has a world featherweight title in mind in the future.

Speaking before a group of reporters at the broadcasting station in Tokyo, the 30-year-old Inoue retracted his earlier comment (about the timing to move up to the featherweight division) and said advancing to the featherweight division may come earlier than expected, ‘’say within two to three years.’’

Inoue said, ‘’If I had felt any uncertainty in my challenge to then WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton of the United States, (in which Inoue wrested the titles with a devastating eighth-round technical knockout on July 25), I would not think about moving up to the featherweight division. But since I did not feel any pressure even a millimeter (in the fight with Fulton), I thought my capability is not here (super bantamweight).’’

At present, Inoue is expected to face World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales of the Philippines probably this year to unify the division’s titles.

Inoue said he has recently watched the video of Tapales’ fight with Hiroaki Teshigawara of Misako Boxing Gym (in December 2021 in which Tapales knocked out Teshigawara in the second round) and commented, ‘’He can move flexibly and well utilize his upper body. Since he has a good defense technique and a one-punch punching power, he may possibly be stronger than Fulton.’’

After taking some three-week rest period after the fight with Fulton, Inoue has already resumed his training with his probable fight with Tapales in mind. If the fight with Tapales is formally decided, Inoue said he will start a usual training camp about a month and a half away from the fight.

If he comes safely his fight with Tapales, Inoue said he will face former three-division world champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines and former two-division world kingpin Luis Nery of Mexico in addition of Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan, (who dropped a split decision loss to Tapales to lose his WBA and IBF titles in this past April).

While Inoue used to say he will remain at super bantamweight ‘’for the time being,’’ he said, ‘’I can fight with confidence at featherweight if I clear the fights with all these four boxers.’’

https://boxingnews.jp/english/102565/

I think if he wins all these fights, then the move to 126 might happen in 2025. The Nery fight would have to be in US since he is banned from Boxing in Japan due to his failed drug tests & missing weight

 

Ya I am also looking for his rehydration pre ring entrance weight for the Fulton fight, they really should do that weigh in & make the info public IMO

I agree, he needs to fight a power puncher at 122 & just settle into the new weight class before moving up again

Lots of fans want him to move up right away to 126 if he beats Tapales & measure everyone by Pacquiao without understanding that Inoue's body frame isn't the same + Pac started as a malnourished fighter

So far he has moved up well & carried the power, so I think him & his team know what they are doing instead of just rushing like fans want.

I was watching Otabek vs Ward & Otabek looked huge for 126. Rushing to guys like that without due diligence risks a loss & accusations of "hype job" from the usual suspects

 

I found this on reddit which suggests his rehydration weight for the Fulton fight wasn't much different to what it was when he was at 118:

Q: You said that you can still do a lot at super-bantam, but there are already talks of unification. But once you unify, isn't it time to graduate [from the division]? What are your thoughts on that?

Inoue: There's really no such thing as graduation. I intend to stay at 122 until there's nothing left to prove, and I don't plan to rush to raise my weight. Even if we manage to [schedule a fight with Tapales] within the year, and the result is successful, I plan to remain at 122. I've said this before, but I want to be thoughtful to how my body is reacting as I consider moving up [in weight].

Q: Your weight [on fight night with Fulton] wasn't that different from when you were still at 118. Does that mean that your body still has capacity to fill in [to your new weight class]?

Inoue: There's definitely room for improvement.

Q: So you could have gained more weight [between weigh-in and fight night] but you were holding back? So you are still in the process of adjusting to your new weight class?

Inoue: It's really one step at a time. If I gain muscle mass too quickly, it's come at the cost of my speed and agility. I need to gain meaningful mass, slowly but surely, and ideally I want to train in a way that my speed actually improves [alongside power]. I'm thinking that [the process of adjustment] will take 3 years. I want to take the time to adjust my body to fighting at 122.

Q: Ohashi-san (Chairman of Inoue's boxing gym), Inoue said that he want to remain at 122, but do you share in that vision?

Ohashi: Yes, we want to unify the division within the year, and next year we'd like to fight boxers like Casimero and Nery. And once we'd done what we can [at 122], it'll be interesting to go up in weight and take on boxers like Ramirez. I'm confident that we can still win [at 126].

Q: What do you think, [Inoue-san]?

Inoue: Yes, if we go through those fights, it'll be nearing 3 years, so that's probably the direction we'll head towards.

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