Naoya Inoue

Born on April 10, 1993 in Zama, Kanagawa, Japan, Naoya Inoue lives up to his nickname “The Monster,” as he comes after other fighters with powerful punches, particularly to the body. He put together a successful amateur career, as he won a few junior tournaments in Japan and competed in the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships, although he didn’t place. After he didn’t lose in a qualification tournament for the Olympic team, he ended his amateur career with a 75-6 record.

Inoue had his first professional fight on October 2, 2012. Unlike many boxers who start their careers with fights against journeymen, he took on the 16-4-1 Crison Omayao, who was a Filipino champion. Despite the level of competition, he demonstrated his power by knocking out his opponent in the fourth round. In his next fight a few months later, he scored another KO, this one in the very first round.

His third opponent was the 17-2-4 Yuki Sano, and Naoya Inoue won that fight by TKO in the 10th and final round. That set him up for a title shot in only the fourth fight of his career, as he took on Ryoichi Taguchi on August 25, 2013 for the Japanese light flyweight title. While this was his first fight to go to a decision, he still put on a show, battering Taguchi with hard shots on his way to a 10-round unanimous decision win.

On December 6, 2013, he added another belt to his collection when he took out Jerson Mancio by way of fifth-round TKO for the OPBF light flyweight title. After that, he got his first world title fight, as he was set to fight Adrian Hernandez on April 4, 2014 for the WBC light flyweight belt. Once again, Inoue was dominant, as he finished off his opponent in the sixth round by TKO.

He defended that belt one time, against Wittawas Basapean, and won by TKO in the 11th round. Then, he decided to challenge himself by relinquishing his title and jumping up to junior bantamweight to take on Omar Narvaez. Narvaez had an impressive record of 43-1-2, along with the WBO title. It didn’t matter to Inoue, who put Narvaez on the canvas in the first minute of the fight and didn’t let up from there, eventually scoring a knockout in just the second round.

Naoya Inoue was out of action for almost a year after that, but came back on December 29, 2015 to defend his WBO title for the first time. It didn’t take him long to defeat Warlito Parrenas, as he won by TKO in the second round. On May 8, 2016, he fought David Carmona, who would become just the second fighter to last until a decision against him, but he still picked up the win after 12 rounds. He fought two more times that year. First, he beat Karoon Jarupianlerd in the 10th round by TKO. He then closed out 2016 with another spectacular finish, this one against Kohei Kono in the sixth round of their fight.

What is Naoya Inoue's Record?

Naoya Inoue's record currently stands at 20 wins, 0 loses and 0 draws. He is currently undefeated in a total of 20 contests. Of those 20 wins he's stopped 17 of his opponents, so his current knock-out ratio is 85%. He's boxed a total of 114 rounds, meaning his professional fights last 5.7 rounds on average.

What was Inoue's last fight?

Naoya Inoue's last fight took place against Jason Moloney's on 31st Oct 2020, in Nevada, United States. He won by technical knockout in the 7th round. That fight was 4 months and 3 days ago.

How active is Naoya Inoue?

Inoue's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 9 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 6 months and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 23 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 4.6 rounds on average.

What belts does Naoya Inoue hold?

He currently holds the The Ring Bantamweight, IBF World Bantamweight and WBA Super World Bantamweight championships.

He won a vacant The Ring Bantamweight and IBF World Bantamweight belts against Emmanuel Rodriguez, beating him by knockout in the 2nd round on 18th May 2019. He has held these belts for a total of 658 days (1 year, 9 months and 19 days) and has 2 defences on the The Ring and 2 defences on the IBF. His first mandatory for his IBF belt is due against Michael Dasmarinas.

He won WBA Super World Bantamweight belt against Nonito Donaire, beating him by unanimous decision after 12 rounds on 7th November 2019. He has held this belt for a total of 485 days (1 year, 3 months and 29 days) and has defended the belt 1 time. He is yet to make a mandatory defence of this belt.

Where is Naoya Inoue From?

Inoue was born in Japan.

How Old Is Naoya Inoue?

The bantamweight is currently 27 years old. He was born on 10th April 1993, so he will turn 28 in 1 month and 4 days.

How long has Inoue been fighting?

Naoya Inoue made his professional debut in October 2012, so he has been a pro for 8 years and 5 months.

How tall is Naoya Inoue?

Inoue is 5' 5" (5 Foot and 5 inches) which is 164cm (1 meter and 64 centimeters).

What is Inoue's Reach?

His reach is 68.1 inches (68.1") which is 173 cm (1 meter and 73 centimeters).

What stance does Naoya Inoue use?

Inoue fights from a traditional orthodox stance, which means he favours his right hand as his power hand when fighting.

What are some potential opponents for Naoya Inoue?

Some potential future fights for Inoue include Luis Nery, John Riel Casimero, Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, Unified Super Bantamweight Champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Zolani Tete.

What will be Naoya Inoue's Next Fight?

Naoya Inoue's next fight was slated to be a unified title contest against WBO bantamweight champion, John Riel Casimero. However, COVID put pay to that the original date. It's also stopping both men from getting to the US to make a rearranged date happen. Both fighters might took an interim fight and could head into a rearranged clash early in 2021..

How can I stream Naoya Inoue's Fights?

In the UK you can usually stream Inoue's fights on Fite.Tv – TopRank Subscription.

In the US you can usually stream Naoya Inoue's fights via ESPN+.

What are some recent Naoya Inoue results?

Inoue remains undefeated as a professional, stopping 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight, he beat Nonito Donaire on 7th November 2019 by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Bantamweight, IBF World Bantamweight and The Ring Bantamweight championship fight at Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had beat Emmanuel Rodriguez on 18th May 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round in their IBF World Bantamweight, WBA World Bantamweight and The Ring Bantamweight championship fight at The SSE Hydro, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had won against Juan Carlos Payano on 7th October 2018 by knockout in the 1st round in their WBA World Bantamweight championship fight at Arena, Kanagawa, Japan.

Before that, he had beat Jamie McDonnell on 25th May 2018 by technical knockout in the 1st round in their WBA World Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

He had defeated Yoan Boyeaux on 30th December 2017 by technical knockout in the 3rd round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Bunka Gym, Kanagawa.