What Does The Future Hold For Naoya Inoue – One Of Boxing’s Pound-For-Pound Greats?

Inoue Faces Mandatory Challenger Goodman

It appears the most immediate plan for Inoue is to face his mandatory challenger Sam Goodman. The Australian (18-0-0 8 KO), who is ranked No 1 by the WBO and IBF, joined Inoue in the ring after his fight with Nery and called on the champion to take the fight or vacate the belts.

“I’ve been mandatory for over a year, either give up the belts or fight me. Let’s get it on,” Goodman said in the ring.

The challenge has been accepted by Inoue, who said in his post-fight press conference that the challenger will earn his title shot. “I’m looking forward to the negotiation to fight against Sam Goodman in September.”

It’s the logical and obvious next fight for Inoue but hardly one to set pulses racing. The Japanese fighter has cleaned out all-comers so far and there is little to suggest Goodman will be the one to stop the juggernaut.

Inoue Steps Up To Featherweight

There are simply no challenges left for Inoue at 122lbs, so a move up a division to featherweight will surely happen sooner rather than later. The big question is whether his power will still carry at 126.

For a fighter who was once a world champion at light-flyweight and flyweight, there will eventually be a limit on how many divisions he can climb; the higher he climbs, the more any physical advantages he enjoys at super-bantamweight start to diminish.

At 5ft 5in with a 67½ in reach, Inoue is still bigger than IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez, but he gives away a couple of inches in height and reach to WBA title holder Raymond Ford and the WBC’s Rey Vargas. He is much shorter than the 6ft 1in WBO champion Rafael Espinoza.

That said, the much bigger and more exciting fights are waiting for Inoue at 126, and as someone with freakish power for a boxer in the lighter divisions, he would still be fancied to become a five-weight world champion.

In an interview with The Ring Magazine in February, Inoue revealed that his regular weight is around 141 to 143lbs, so making weight for the 126 featherweight limit should come quite naturally.

Could The Monster Climb To Super-Featherweight?

Height and reach are not the only factors that determine how high a boxer can climb through the divisions. Take Manny Pacquiao, for example; the Filipino legend is about the same height and holds the same reach as Inoue and he became a world champion at super-welterweight.

Of course, they are two different fighters with different builds and skill sets, but it does mean that Inoue probably has at least a couple more divisions in him if he gets his conditioning right.

Inoue has hinted at various times that 130lbs would probably be his limit, saying last year: “I am beginning to feel that featherweight is possible for me. Super-featherweight, that would be my ideal boxing life.”

Should he eventually move up to super-featherweight, several enticing fights could be in store, including against the likes of WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete, WBA title holder Lamont Roach, and the IBF’s Joe Cordina.

A climb to 130 would seem some way off for now, particularly if he fights Goodman in the fall, so the scene is likely to change if and when he steps into the division.

The only thing certain at this stage is that Inoue is one of the most exciting fighters in the world.