I don't think he could ever realistically be the true champion at 135. But, with the watered down proliferation of titles these days, he might be able to pick up a belt. If a total bum like Manuel Charr can hold a belt, an undersized (but, extremely skilled) fighter like Inoue might be able to pull it off.
I imagine that if Inoue grabs a belt at 135, it'll be a guy from 126-130 who's moved up and won a title. I don't think any of the current lightweights will be able to make 135 for more than a year or two at max except Lomachenko.
Butler lavishes high praise on Inoue then he proceeds to, after the interviewer for some strange reason decides to raise the issue which shouldn't even be an issue, accuses Inoue of stacking And after Floyd's recent comments where he insinuated Inoue's taking PEDs and needs to fight in the US to undergo drug testing, Butler does exactly the same thing even though Inoue is being tested and has fought in the US x 3 and the UK x 1. And I'm not sure why Inoue has to fight in the US to undergo drug testing This content is protected
It’s a big jump, especially considering most of the top guys walk around much heavier than 135. I’d like to see Loma Inoue before Loma gets too old. Even if the fight could take place at 135. It wouldn’t be for a belt but would be a fun fight to watch. The size difference wouldn’t be bad. I bet Inoue is closer to Loma’s weight than Loma is to Haney’s walking around weight. Until Inoue moves up, it’s hard to tell how his power will affect much bigger guys. He’s a special fighter and I hope we see it someday. His skills are great but he doesn’t have the frame to pack on a lot of weight and still be elite , I suspect.
Damn, poor look from Butler. He was a classy gent up until now. I don't mind these not so low key jabs, but I'd like sportwide consistency. Specifically, black fighters are never questioned.
To be fair 1/3 of his 3 losses have come against a PED cheat But he doesn't deserve fairness when he's throwing around unfounded accusations like that and sullying Inoue's good name. Interviewer is a twat too for even raising the question
Also, he, Nonito, and Pac have been the only fighters to my knowledge that have actually posted pictures of vials of blood showing testing. He did it for Nonito 2 and Fulton.
This content is protected Nevada and the Japan Boxing Commission allow the same exact technique for handwrapping, yet not a peep from Slick Boxing Fans about Crawford's wraps. Besides, Inoue wrapped his hands the way Team Fulton demanded just appease the female dogs and ensure the fight doesn't get cancelled and he still knocked Fulton out.
Not even sure if Bulter has undergone VADA testing. He may well have but I couldn't find any info about it on Google And how many times has Fulton done VADA in order for him to avoid such accusations being leveled at him?
It's the whole race thing. In a recent interview, Shakur Stevenson said he'd beat a prime Pacquiao and then quipped that Pacquiao would need to be tested. Now, despite the fact that Floyd had a needle in his arm and was hooked up to a drip in his living room while watching Moonlight, you'll never hear a fighter accuse Floyd of PED use.
I thought this stacking bull**** was put to rest when: 1) Robert Garcia, Stitch Duran, Mike Bazel etc all clarified that its to protect a fighters hands & is perfectly legal under the rules of several US Boxing commissions including Vegas where most of the big fights happen 2) When Inoue wrapped it the way Fulton's team wanted in front of them & still proceeded to knock Fulton's head off I hope someone shares this with Inoue so that if they ever meet again then Inoue can really punish Butler this time Inoue has been VADA enrolled & tested (at least for Donaire fight). It took me 2 mins to confirm: https://vada-testing.org/2022/06/21/naoya-inoue/ I believe he was also tested for the Fulton fight but the VADA site may not have updated on that yet All this prejudice against Asian & Eastern European fighters smacks of xenophobia & racism to me. If Inoue was American, we would be hearing nonstop about how he was the face of Boxing blah blah blah
Yeah it's ridiculous. The fact that Inoue's brother Takuma has fought exclusively out of Japan and has only registered 4 inside schedule wins from his 18 victories should've put that nonsense to bed But the fact that Inoue also knocked the bigger Fulton out whilst wearing 'normal' wraps and having undergone VADA testing should've been the final nail in the coffin Yeah I know Inoue has done VADA at least twice I very much doubt Inoue and Butler will ever meet again It certainly is that way for some no doubt
Brother, just look at your lounge post history. It just reeks of someone who is lonely and seeks validation on a boxing forum. I was hoping when I called you out for this behavior before you would have some self awareness and stop. **** must be hard though and I don’t know what’s going on in your personal life, you good?
Ya its funny how no one brings up the fact that Takuma has the lowest KO% of all current belt holders Both brothers are trained by their dad & if they are doing something illegal with Inoue's wraps/gloves, then what was preventing them from doing the same with Takuma The lengths these featherfists will go in their jealousy to discredit power they can never have I doubt Inoue will ever read what Butler said & lucky for Butler that they will likely never meet again. I guess that's one advantage Inoue has, like Roberto Duran he doesn't know English & doesn't appear to care whatever trash is said in the Western media about him (he hasn't reacted to Floyd's trashy interview insinuating he is a PED cheat & that he needs to come fight in US though he already did 3X & Floyd himself never even fought outside Vegas)
