Inoue has done well against the tricky, slick boxing types. I don't think Rose has the power needed to keep him at bay for the entire fight and probably gets stopped circa the 10th round.
I'm as big a Rose admirer as you'll find but we all saw how he done against a hellacious puncher in Olivares. Sure, Rose had the footwork and stamina to outpoint Harada in his last fight at 118 but I still dont see him avoiding Inoue's big shots all fight. Inoue by late stoppage for me.
Inoue probably couldn’t make bantamweight in the sixties if we are talking about the Inoue of today. Whatever the case. I’d pick Inoue.
Inoue is a very small guy, and he's been making lower weights. I see no reason why he couldn't make 118 in the 60s.
If Rose was able to beat Harada (albeit a somewhat shopworn Harada) then I can see him giving Inoue a loss as well, with some shaky moments along the way.
Lionel Rose was an inconsistent fighter. This has to be considered. Naoya Inoue, however, has proven to be a very consistent fighter within his H2H ability, with the caveat being his wins to do not compare favourably to victory over Fighting Harada. Rose also had debatable near wins which do not match the aesthetic destructions left by Inoue, with the counter to this being the conquests of Inoue do not match the same level as Roses' in terms of legacy. I think these distinctions are distracting poster thoughts on both sides away from the stylistic and physical comparison needed. I will assume this is the best version of Rose from the Harada bout. Naoya Inoue does not have an 'advanced' Boxing style, not something the old timers would call 'tricky' or 'serpentine'. However, his application and instinct is sublime. He is a clever fighter who knows how to implement his talented physicality - punching power - through feinting, distance judgement and changing his shot selection. I specify power because, as other posters have noted, he is not the biggest Bantamweight even in this time of next-day weigh-ins, making as low as 108lbs in his career beforehand. It is likely the two men are around the same size, given Rose's propensity to cut weight harshly. The impressive display of physical strength he enacted against Harada (a man who bullied a bigger, skilled classic Featherweight Champion in Famechon) means you cannot discount him even against next day weigh in fighters of present day Bantamweight from a purely physical viewpoint. This bout would not be decided by physical strength anyway, given how both men box and approach the opponent. Naoya Inoue's greatest talent undoubtedly lies in his fantastic judgement of distance and educated fundamentals, which allow his power to carry through unexpectedly to even top opponents, with the clearest (not best) example being against Payano. The problem with that is Rose's distance judgement is just as advanced, if not more so, and he has a more refined, tricky style in which to implement it. Rose was excellent at defending single shots (with several defensive measures at that) and all round ringmanship. Against such an opponent it would be a wise idea to try and up the work-rate, catching him out with the second, third or even fourth shot (can't defend them all). This is another problem - Inoue doesn't box this way, and even if he did, it could fall short ala Harada. On top of his refined but 'basic' style, Inoue is not a workhorse but a shot selector and punch threader. What does this mean? It means the likely outcome of this bout ends with Rose out tricking Inoue, in either distance, after being caught out early to mid rounds with some crushing Inoue shots. Could Inoue KO him at a point like that? Unlikely, given how long Rose dealt with the power of Olivares for an impressive amount of time, the man who KO'd top Featherweights as a dastardly drunkard. It is likely Rose would shut Inoue's offence down somewhat and would actually have the higher work rate. Some of the tactics Rose could implement would include drawing Inoue's power jab for the counter left hook and pivot, which would hinder that starting block of Inoue's explosive offense, or jabbing at Inoue's body, then feinting that shot to draw Inoue's high guard and then smack a right hand crossing over. We already saw what an old Donaire could do with such methods (in a fabulous fight) against a refined boxer puncher in Inoue. I believe Rose would do the same and better.
