Naoya Inoue Next Fight: Japanese Stars Defends Title Vs. Luis Nery

Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champion, is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world. He is a four-weight champion, having held the light flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight belts. In 2022, he stopped Paul Butler to become the first undisputed champion at 118 pounds in half a century.

A few months later, Inoue dominated Stephen Fulton to become WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion. This past December, he knocked out Marlon Tapales to claim the WBA, IBF and The Ring titles.

He is the first-ever undisputed super bantamweight champion in boxing history. Only Inoue, Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields and Terence Crawford are active boxers with and two-weight undisputed champions.

A former champion: Nery, a pro since 2012, won the WBC and The Ring bantamweight belts back in 2017. He stopped Shinsuke Yamanaka that night but was stripped of The Ring title after a failed weigh-in.

In his WBC title defense, Nery missed weight. He was again stripped of the belt and barred from fighting in Japan. That is no longer the case, as he will fight in Japan and is 9-1 over his last 10.

Finishes: Inoue is not one for the scorecards. He has claimed 23 knockouts in his career, including seven in a row. The quickest was the second round TKO of Nonito Donaire in 2022. Each of his last five fights have been in Japan.

What makes Naoya Inoue so popular?

His willingness to stand and deliver the knockout blow. With those 23 finishes, Inoue is a finisher. Plus, ever since his decision to turn pro, he has always taken on the toughest challenges.

His first pro fight was against a Filipino national champion. From there, he battled a Thai national champion and Japan’s No. 1 ranked light flyweight at the time. In just his fourth pro bouts, he was competing for titles, winning the Japanese light flyweight belt.

• Naoya Inoue record: 26-0
• Naoya Inoue age: 31 years old
• In his pro debut, Inoue claimed a fourth round knockout of Crison Omayao. He followed with back-to-back finishes before going the full 10 rounds with Ryoichi Taguchi in 2013 for the title.
• Since winning the Japanese light flyweight belt, each of Inoue’s matches have been with a title on the line.
• He won his first major crown in 2014, claiming the WBC light flyweight belt with a finish of Adrian Hernandez. He won the WBO junior bantamweight title later that year.
• Along with wins over Nonito Donaire and Paul Butler, he has also topped Emmanuel Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Payano, Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales.
• The Ring, BWAA and ESPN named him Fighter of the Year in 2023.
• Married to his high school sweetheart, Inoue has three children.
• He is trained by his father, Shingo Inoue, a former amateur boxer. Brother Takuma Inoue and cousin Koki Inoue are both professional boxers as well.

Naoya Inoue net worth

Through the course of his career, Inoue has amassed a net worth of $7 million.