Naoya Inoue vs. Aran Dipaen

12/14 in Tokyo. WBA super world and IBF world bantamweight titles at stake, Inoue's third and fourth defenses respectively. Dipaen is the IBF #6 ranked contender.

I was worried this might be next when, while searching Japanese boxing news media for any updates on Ioka earlier this week and discovering that he might be lining something up with Ancajas for NYE, there was mention of Inoue making his own next defense versus a challenger from Thailand. It, apparently, was always going to either be Dipaen for the IBF title or Tasana Salapat (ranked #12) for the WBA. The details of why it necessarily had to be between those two are fuzzy (at first I thought maybe Dipaen and Salapat might be under the same promoter and there was a handshake deal with Top Rank - but, no, they're handled by Ekkarat Chaichotchuang and Piyarat Vachirarattanawong respectively. So, no idea why...maybe both organizations happened to give him ultimatums about defending against somebody rated by them next? But still doesn't explain why it needed to be a Thai...) and I was working off shoddy Google translations, but that was the scuttlebutt in Japan. Really disappointed to see it turn out to be accurate.

The guy is ranked 55th in the freaking world on BoxRec and is completely absent from the WBC, IBF, and WBA top 15s. He's probably only so high in the IBF's graces on the strength of stopping countryman Sukpraserd "Sukkasem Kietyongyuth Ruaviking" Ponpitak for their Pan-Pacific bauble in his last outing - but that isn't even his one halway good victory IMO (that would be Jomar Saballe "Wallopman" Fajardo, who is, as of being kayoed by Wisaksil "Srisaket Sor Rungvisai" Wangek a year ago, now one defeat over the wrong side of a .500 record). Huge step down from Michael Alber Dasmariñas, who didn't even last 3 rounds.

 

Matter of custom.

Dipaen does, however, have 11 kayos in his twelve victories in fourteen bouts. But - you know, against nobody.

Inoue could probably give him a free shot Mayorga style and come away okay. And that'd be his best chance of shocking the world.

 

You get weaker talents ranked in contention for championships all throughout sports. It happens. Fluke upset victories, injuries, etc., any host of reasons and circumstances that vary per the structure and nuances of each sport. Almost every other year in the college basketball tournament you get at least one school causing the fans, pundits and oddsmakers to all scratch their heads and go "who??". A playoff team in the MLB can enter a slump in the late summer and open the door to an otherwise improbable wildcard. And so forth.

Dipaen happens to be ranked #6 by the IBF, so the apparent mismatched gulf in class between himself and Inoue doesn't matter. He's positioned for it to be a valid defense. Now, if he brought in the same record and pedigree but wasn't in the organization's top 15, they would be within their rights to (and probably would) tell Inoue to go kick rocks if he tried presenting Dipaen as his next voluntary defense option.

 

Not good as in waste of time you mean, right?


Unless you see a serious threat in Dipaen that none of the rest us do, in which case, please, show me the

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Casimero is facing Paul Butler.

 

Well that's a slight exaggeration - not anyone. You can't be world ranked ahead of your pro debut or have an 0-20 record or anything. (or - generally - be on any kind of losing or inactivity streak)

But yeah, sometimes the sanctioning bodies have questionable judgment when endorsing some fighters as "top 15 in the world". I think you're right and often crushers of tomato cans do just hand over a satchel of cash to magically appear without any big W's.