Michael Carbajal vs Ricardo Lopez At 108 Pounds

The timing was not right for Gonzalez and Estrada because Inoue and his team decided the timing was not right. I'm pretty certain that He jumped over the 112 division not because He suddenly outgrew 2 divisions at a time - but because fighting 40 years old Narvaez at Super Flyweight was an easier title to win and an easier fighter to bring home.
Alternatives - at Flyweight - were Roman Goznalez, Juan Franciso Estrada and Amnat Ruenroeng - 3 quality champions in the peak of their abilities.

He has balls of course and has been challenging himself since, but his career right now is sort of like what Pacquiao's would be if He never fought Barrera, Morales and Marquez. He does not have a single great fighter ins his prime on his resume and those are not easy to come by, so He might never get one.
Donaire was significantly past his prime and started in the same weight range as Inoue. I would not overestimate that win. Beating Fulton is far more impressive in my book.

 

Yes, he beat an undefeated Fulton at 122. That same Fulton who after getting stopped by Inoue just went up to 126 and won another title.

I agree Donaire wasn’t what he once was; but he still was good enough to win a world title belt by knockout at 118 against an undefeated and defend it against an undefeated prior to losing the rematch with Inoue. He was a champion. Plus, weight had an impact on Donaire’s losses. He lost at 122 and 126, but from 112 - 118 he was a beast. Who beat him at that weight range?

When Inoue beat then 43-1-2 Narvaez, Inoue was 7-0. His freaking 8th pro bout, green, going up against a guy with 46 pro fights! Narvaez had not lost in 3 years, and his only loss was a decision to prime Donaire. Inoue stopped him in 2.

 

I don't want to devalue his achievement or criticise him too much, plus I hijacked the thread a little bit, but I'll maintain that Inoue did not get in the ring with the best of his era and it's going to be a big miss for his legacy when He eventually retires.