Naoya Inoue
Inoue in 2023
Born	井上 尚弥 (1993-04-10) 10 April 1993 (age 31) Zama, Kanagawa, Japan
Other names	The Monster (怪物 Kaibutsu)[2]
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light flyweight Super flyweight Bantamweight Super bantamweight
Height	5 ft 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm)[1]
Reach	67+1⁄2 in (171 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	28
Wins	28
Wins by KO	25
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Japan Asian Youth Championships 2010 Tehran Light flyweight

Naoya Inoue (井上 尚弥, Inoue Naoya, born 10 April 1993) is a Japanese professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, and is one of only three male boxers in history (along with Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk) to become the undisputed champion in two weight classes in the "four-belt era".^[3][4] Nicknamed "The Monster", Inoue is known for his exceptional punching power, possessing a knockout-to-win percentage of 89.28%, with 91.30% in world title matches.

He is the first and only boxer to win the undisputed championship^[a] at super bantamweight, having held all four major titles since 2023, as well as the Ring magazine title. Previously he held the undisputed championship at bantamweight between 2022 and 2023, and the Ring title. He became the first undisputed bantamweight champion since Enrique Pinder in 1972, and the first boxer in history to do so in the four-belt era.^[5]

Earlier in his career, Inoue held the World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight title in 2014, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior bantamweight title from 2014 to 2018, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title (Unified version) from 2018 to 2019.^[6] He has also held the lineal championship at bantamweight^[7] and super bantamweight,^[8] and won the 2018–2019 World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament.^[9]

In June 2022, Inoue became the first Japanese boxer to be ranked No. 1 in the world, pound for pound, by The Ring^[10][11] and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.^[12] He was named Fighter of the Year in 2023 by The Ring, the Boxer Writers Association of America, and ESPN.^[13][14][15]

Inoue won the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting and the Japanese Junior National Championships in 2009. In 2010, he took the bronze medal in the Asian Youth Championships in Tehran, Iran, and won the Japanese Junior Selection Tournament. He then participated in the AIBA Youth World Championships, but lost to Yosvany Veitía in the third preliminary round. He finished in the second place at the Japanese National Championships in the same year.^[16]

In July 2011, he took the gold medal in the 21st President's Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.^[17][18][19] He subsequently won the first place in the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting in that year.^[16] However, he was eliminated in the third round by Yosvany Veitía in the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, and lost to Birzhan Zhakypov in the final at the 2012 Asian Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.^[20] Inoue holds a KO win over future world champion Kenshiro Teraji in the amateurs. Inoue's amateur record was 75–6 (48 KOs).^[20]

Inoue turned professional in 2012, signing with Ohashi Boxing Gym. Of his own volition, he signed an agreement with Hideyuki Ohashi to never fight against easy opponents. At a press conference held on July 2nd, Inoue announced his decision to turn professional and that he had joined Ohashi Boxing Gym, he declared that he would break the Japanese record held by Kazuto Ioka for the fastest time to win a world title. His professional debut was on 2 October 2012, at Korakuen Hall against Filipino national champion Crison Omayao, in an 8-round bout. This bout was also broadcast on TBS' terrestrial TV show "Guts Fighting" despite being recorded late at night.

Inoue knocked his opponent down with a right body blow in the first round, and knocked him down with a left body blow in the fourth round, winning by KO at 2 minutes and 4 seconds in the fourth round. Just three months after turning professional, he was ranked 10th in the OPBF Oriental Pacific light flyweight division, and 6th in the Japanese light flyweight division.^{[21][22][20][23]}

On 5 January 2013, Inoue made a light work of Thai national champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana, by scoring a first-round knockout.^[20]

Inoue's third pro fight took place on 16 April 2013, against Japan's number one-ranked light flyweight boxer Yūki Sano. The bout was broadcast live on Fuji TV ( Kaspe! Exciting Time ), marking the first time the station has broadcast a boxing match in prime time in 21 years. In the first round, Inoue cut his opponent's right eye with a left hook, and in the second round, Inoue knocked Sano down with a left hook after feinting a left body blow. However, in the third round, Inoue injured his right fist when his right straight hit Sano's head. After that, Inoue was unable to land a right punch and was forced to fight with just his left hand, but in the fourth round, Inoue knocked Sano down with a series of left hooks and won by TKO at 1 minute and 9 seconds in the tenth round. With this victory, Inoue became No. 1 in the Japanese light flyweight division, setting up his next fight against Japanese light flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi^[24]

On 25 August 2013, Inoue captured the Japanese light flyweight title from the WBA's number three-ranked contender, and future unified WBA, IBF, and Ring magazine light flyweight champion, Ryoichi Taguchi. This was seen as Inoue's toughest test thus far but in the end he dominated and battered Taguchi over ten rounds. With this victory, Inoue became the first Japanese champion in 23 years to win the title in just four fights, tying the record held by Joichiro Tatsuyoshi.^[20][25]

Inoue vacated his Japanese light flyweight title on October 18, 2013. Three days later, on October 21, he faced Akira Yaegashi in a two-three-minute exhibition match.

After the big win against Taguchi, Inoue then fought for the vacant OPBF light flyweight title against Filipino light flyweight champion Jerson Mancio on 6 December 2013 on the undercard of Yaegashi-Sosa. Inoue defeated Mancio with a 5th-round TKO to claim the regional title. Earlier that day, his younger brother, Takuma Inoue, made his professional debut with a unanimous decision victory.^[26]

Inoue stopped Adrián Hernández (29–2–1, 18 KOs) in the sixth round to be crowned the WBC light flyweight champion in his sixth professional bout at Ota-City General Gymnasium on 6 April 2014. In doing so, Inoue set the record for winning a major world championship in the fewest professional fights for a Japanese boxer.^[6] Hernández was a two-time champion, who had gone 8–1 in world title bouts. The all action slugger from Mexico was regarded as the division's best fighter and was ranked No. 1 by The Ring and TBRB. While going up against the #1 rated light flyweight in the world, Inoue dominated the fight from beginning to end.^[27]

At the press conference the day after the bout, taking into consideration the obvious effects of the weight cut, including a cramp in his left leg, Inoue indicated his intention to consider relinquishing the title without defending it and moving up a weight class. However, he later said, "It is my responsibility as a champion to defend the title," and decided to wait until he successfully defended his title for the first time before moving up a weight class.^[28][29]

On 5 September 2014, Inoue faced Samartlek Kokietgym (17–5, 5 KOs) at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. Kokietgym was ranked No.13 by WBC. Inoue routed Kokietgym, winning every round on all scorecards, He knocked his opponents down in the fourth and sixth rounds, and won by TKO in the eleventh round at 1 minute and 8 seconds, successfully defending his title for the first time. After the fight, Inoue announced that he would relinquish his title and move up a weight class.^[30]

In November 2014, Inoue vacated his light flyweight title and moved up two weight classes to super flyweight to challenge two division champion and current WBO junior bantamweight title holder Omar Andrés Narváez (43–1–2, 23 KOs), Narváez was ranked No. 1 by The Ring and TBRB. The Argentine southpaw was considered the best super flyweight in the world and among the best technicians in the sport.^[31] The fight was scheduled for 30 December 2014. Narváez had never been dropped in his 20 year career of over 150 fights both professional and amateur, and came in having fought in 30 career title fights. His only loss had come by a decision to hard hitting Nonito Donaire at bantamweight in 2011, one weight class above, making him an undefeated champion at super flyweight and below for his entire 14 year pro career. Narváez had won his first world championship in 2002 at flyweight, and went on to became the longest reigning flyweight champion in history, before moving up to capture a title at super flyweight in 2010, making twenty seven title defenses of his belts since. Narváez had reigned as champion for close to 13 years, while Inoue arrived at the fight with a 7–0 record.^[32]

Despite Inoue's impressive dismantling of Adrián Hernández, many observers were wondering if the inexperienced power puncher was setting himself up for a boxing lesson and a major setback when he agreed to next face super flyweight king Narváez. The signing shocked many boxing pundits in Japan, some wondering if the young Inoue was underestimating the experienced and capable two division champion, a tough veteran of some 30 world title fights. From the opening bell, Inoue's power and accuracy allowed him to control every aspect of the fight. A right hand to the head put Narváez down just thirty seconds in. A left hook floored him thirty seconds after that. In the second round, a left hook to the body put Narváez down again, and at the end of the round another left hook, this one to the liver, ended the fight. Narváez collapsed and was counted out. Inoue's body punches landed again and again, setting up the blows aimed upstairs. The Argentine TV broadcast of the bout commented that "Narvaez took more damage in the second round with Inoue than he had ever taken in his entire career." The night ended with Inoue capturing his second major title. He accomplished the feat in record breaking fashion by doing so in just his eighth pro fight, the fastest run to two belts in boxing history. Inoue become the first and only fighter to stop Narváez, and the only one to defeat him at super flyweight.^[33]

Immediately after the fight, Narváez's corner complained in the ring. "A champion can't fall like that. He must have put lead or something in his gloves. Let us check right now!" When Inoue's promoter Hideyuki Ohashi removed Inoue's gloves in the ring and had his opponent check, there was no trickery. When Ohashi asked, "What's going on?" Narváez's trainer replied with a wry smile, "He's a great new champion!". Afterwards Narváez commented, "I was in good condition and had trained properly, but the first punch in the first round hit me and I was surprised by the power of the punch. It was like a punch from a fighter in a higher weight class, and the punch was so fast I couldn't see it." And praised the 21-year-old new champion, saying, "Inoue was stronger than Nonito Donaire. He beat me and surprised me. He's only 21 years old. He has a big future ahead of him. I think he can become a historic champion."^[34] Inoue's blitzing of Narváez was that dominant, it send shock waves through the boxing world, and many now believed Inoue is a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, and deserve serious consideration for Fighter of the Year.^[35][27]

Inoue suffered a broken hand with the punch that put Narvaéz down the first time. In response to Inoue being sidelined, the WBO issued an interim title bout between two of its top-ranked contenders, David Carmona and Warlito Parrenas. The winner would have the right to face Inoue following his comeback.^[36] The fight was ruled a split draw after 12 rounds^[37] but Inoue chose to face Parrenas regardless in his comeback bout on 29 December 2015. Parrenas was ranked No.1 by WBO. Parrenas was blown out in a similar manner as Narváez. The referee waved off the fight in the second round, after Parrenas was dropped twice and he could not get up, giving Inoue a KO victory.^[38]

On 8 May 2016, Inoue faced his WBO mandatory challenger David Carmona. He dominated from the first round, but in the second round, he hit Carmona's temple with a right straight and injured his old broken right hand. Inoue continued to fight with only his left hand without telling his corner about his injury. Before the start of the fifth round, he told his corner about his injury and made the conscious decision to win on points, but around the eighth round, Inoue also injured his left hand. However, he continued to take the lead with his skillful boxing. But in the 12th round Inoue rallied himself to get the stoppage, he launched a fierce attack while enduring the pain. Aiming for a KO, Inoue threw a barrage of punches which dropped Carmona. Carmona barely beat the count and was on unsteady legs. Inoue continued the onslaught with flurry of unanswered punches. Many fans believed the fight should've been stopped as Carmona gestured that he did not want to continue in the middle of the 12th round beatdown. Inoue threw 45 unanswered punches in 30 seconds before the knockdown and another 25 unanswered punches following the knockdown. But referee Eddie Claudio did not stop the fight and Carmona saw the final bell. Inoue dominated the fight and won a comfortable unanimous decision (118–109, 118–109, 116–111), successfully defending his title for the second time.^[39]

Inoue's third defense came against Petchbarngborn Kokietgym on 4 September 2016. Kokietgym was ranked No.1 by WBO. Inoue was originally scheduled to fight former WBO super flyweight champion Omar Narváez, who held the option to exercise the rematch clause with Inoue, but Narváez declined the fight due to him transitioning to bantamweight. Inoue then offered the fight to former IBF super flyweight champion and WBO No.2 ranked Zolani Tete, who had repeatedly stated to the British media that he wanted to fight Inoue, but Tete also declined the fight due to him moving up to bantamweight, so Inoue faced Kokietgym as a replacement. In the early stages, Inoue carefully built up his jabs, but in the second half, Inoue was compromised by a back injury he had suffered two or three weeks before the fight, as well as an injury to his right fist. Still, he did not give his opponent any points, and in the 10th round, Inoue unleashed a flurry of punches and knocked Kokietgym down, which led to Kokietgym being counted out. Inoue won the fight by KO at 3 minutes and 3 seconds of round 10, successfully defending his title for the third time.

After the match, Ohashi Gym president Hideyuki Ohashi announced that he would watch Román González who is expected to fight Inoue, challenge WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras in the United States with Inoue, and that he would negotiate to make the Gonzalez fight happen next year. In a press conference the day after, president Ohashi revealed that he had offered a unification match to Luis Concepcion, who had defeated WBA super flyweight champion Kohei Kono four days earlier.^[40]

On 9 November, it was announced that Inoue's fourth defense would come against Kohei Kono on 30 December 2016.^[41] Kono was a two-time super flyweight champion. In his previous fight Kono lost his WBA title to Luis Concepción in a controversial decision. Naoya's brother, Takuma, was slated to challenge for a world title against Marlon Tapales on the same night but he pulled out due to a fractured right hand.^[41][42] Kono was dropped once by a left hook from Inoue before being stopped in the sixth round. This was the first time Kono lost a fight due to stoppage.^[43]

During 2016, Inoue repeatedly sought a unification bout against four-division champion and current WBC super flyweight champion Román González.^[44][45][46] However, González chose to face Carlos Cuadras instead in the second half of the year.^[47] And Inoue was in attendance for the González vs Cuadras fight. Shortly after González's win over Cuadras, representatives of Inoue sent a formal offer to González for what would've been a unification showdown. González stipulated that the terms offered for an Inoue fight weren't good enough, and turned down the contract.^[48][49]

Inoue's fifth defense of his WBO title came against Ricardo Rodríguez in May 2017. Rodríguez was ranked No. 2 by WBO. Inoue comfortably won by stopping him in the 3rd round following a flurry of punches.^[50]

Following his easy win over Rodríguez, Inoue joined the HBO Boxing After Dark card "Superfly" set at the StubHub Center on 9 September 2017. The event was headlined by the González-Sor Rungvisai rematch for the WBC junior bantamweight title. It was verbally agreed that should González win against Rungvisai, then He and Inoue will meet in a unification bout. But González ended up getting knocked out by Rungvisai, which derailed their fight. It also featured a WBC eliminator between Carlos Cuadras and Juan Francisco Estrada, in addition to Inoue's debut in the US, and first pro bout abroad.^[51] Originally, former IBF super flyweight champion McJoe Arroyo was slated to be Inoue's challenger,^[52] but Arroyo backed out to fight Rau'shee Warren instead.^[53] Inoue also wanted to fight his WBO mandatory challenger Juan Francisco Estrada, but Estrada declined and went the WBC route. Which meant that Inoue's next fight would be against Antonio Nieves (17–2–2, 9 KOs) instead.

Inoue's sixth defense of his WBO title was successful, as he hammered Nieves, who threw in the towel after six rounds. Nieves was rocked towards the end of round 2, but Inoue was unable to finish him as he headed back to his corner when he mistook the 10-second warning with the bell. Inoue scored a knockdown in round 5 after a left hook to the body. Nieves retired after round 6, when Inoue repeatedly landed that left hook to the body to no response from Nieves. Inoue landed 118 of 407 punches (29%) to Nieves' 45 of 209 (22%). After the win Inoue wanted to face Rungvisai, who had just knocked out González. But Rungvisai was caught up with mandatory duty against Estrada. So the fight didn't happen.^[54][55]

During 2016, Inoue repeatedly sought a unification bout against four-division champion and current WBC super flyweight champion Román González.^[56][45][57] However, González chose to face Carlos Cuadras instead in the second half of the year.^[47] And Inoue was in attendance and at ringside for that fight. Shortly after González's win over Cuadras, representatives of Inoue sent a formal offer to González for what would've been a unification showdown. González stipulated that the terms offered for an Inoue fight weren't good enough, and turned down the contract.^[48] González felt he would have receive more money for a potential rematch with Cuadras on HBO. The rematch against Cuadras didn't happen. Instead, González lost the WBC super flyweight title by a split decision to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in March 2017. September 2017 saw Inoue and González appear on the same card in Carson, California. Making his United States debut with a six-round stoppage over Antonio Nieves, Inoue was looking to set up a match with González in 2018. But González didn't live up to his end of the bargain, as he got knocked out in four rounds in a rematch with Rungvisai. At that moment, any future talk of a fight between Inoue and González was dead in the water.^[58][49]

Inoue stated that he would move to bantamweight in the future but he would seek to unify titles against another junior bantamweight titleholder in December 2017.^[59] Inoue's team later claimed that they were having trouble securing an opponent for the New Year's Eve date. They'd reportedly agreed to terms with IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas, but he would later announce he was fighting Jamie Conlan in November. So Boyeaux was brought in as a last minute replacement for Ancajas.^[60]

On 16 November, it was announced that Inoue would face Yan Boyeaux on 30 December, in a show televised by Fuji TV.^[61] Inoue said he planned to box in the United States again within 2 months after fighting Boyeaux.^[62] Inoue dropped Boyeaux four times before referee Raul Caiz Jr. eventually stepped in at 1 minute and 40 seconds of round 3, giving Inoue the win, successfully retaining the WBO title for the seventh time.^[63]

Inoue stated that he had plans to move up to bantamweight, where he would seek to become a three-weight world champion.^[64] But before moving up in weight. Inoue was supposed to fight against WBA champion Kal Yafai in a unification bout at the "Superfly 2" card in US. But Yafai's promoter Eddie Hearn turned down the fight, saying, "it would be Yafai's highest payday against Inoue, but the pay didn't mitigate the risk."^[65]

Promoter Eddie Hearn first reported to Sky Sports on 14 February 2018 that a deal was being negotiated for 3 time bantamweight champion and the current WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell (29–2–1 13 KOs) to defend his title, which he won in 2014, for the seventh time, against Inoue in Japan. On 6 March, Inoue held a press conference in Japan announcing the fight against McDonnell at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on 25 May 2018.^[66][67]

Mcdonnell was an undefeated champion for a decade, who had gone 7–0 in world title bouts, and was ranked No.1 by BoxRec and No. 2 by The Ring. This was considered Inoue's toughest test. Prior to the fight many observers felt bantamweight might be a step too far, and believed tall and rangy McDonnell would give Inoue all sorts of problems. Which was a fair assessment, as McDonnell had previously defeated the highly rated Japanese boxer, undefeated WBO bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda, who was in the exact same position that Inoue currently finds himself in "the one who will lead Japanese boxing". Onlookers were convinced the same outcome would occur against Inoue. McDonnell himself shared the same sentiment as everyone, he said "I still don't know who Inoue is, but I am going to smash him, I think I'll beat him easy."^[68] No one could foresee what was about to unfold come fight night. It was unfathomable.^[69][70]

Inoue had knocked out McDonnell inside the very first round. The fight started at a pace that McDonnell was unable to sustain; initially being hurt with a left hook to the top of the head, followed by being sent to the canvas by a two punch combination culminating in a left hook to the body. He bravely got up, only to be sent back down after a series of brutal punches by Inoue including another clean left hook which seemed to discombobulate McDonnell's senses. The referee waved the fight off within less than a round declaring Inoue the TKO victor. Inoue became the only fighter to stop McDonnell and defeat him at bantamweight.^[71][72][73]

After defeating McDonnell, Inoue said, "I'll participate in the World Boxing Super Series to face other world champions with pleasure," confirming he would take part in the bantamweight tournament, where he would meet other world champions, WBA 'Super champion' Ryan Burnett (19–0, 9 KOs), WBO champion Zolani Tete (27–3, 21 KOs) and IBF champion Emmanuel Rodríguez (18–0, 12 KOs).^[74]

At the draft gala on 20 July, Inoue (16–0, 14KOs) chose to defend his WBA title against former WBA(Undisputed) bantamweight champion Juan Carlo Payano (20–1, 9 KOs) in the quarter-final. Payano seen as the boogeyman of the division, and many believed Inoue had work cut out for him. Payano was ranked No.3 by TBRB and No.4 by The Ring,^[75] previously Payano had lost his world title to Rau'shee Warren in a controversial decision.^[76] In August, the fight was announced to take place on 7 October at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.^[77]

Inoue won the fight with a first-round knockout. It was a right hand just 70 seconds into their scheduled 12-round bout. Inoue connected with a jab before blasting Payano with a straight right hand that put Payano flat on his back and unable to continue. Referee Pinit Prayadsab immediately stopped the fight at 1:10 into the first round. Inoue became the first fighter to stop Payano.^[78][79] The knockout was later voted the Ring magazine Knockout of the Year. It was later revealed that Inoue drew over 5,500,000 viewers in the Kanto region, out of 40 million people living in the Kanto area, over 5.5 million people had watched Inoue knock out Payano that night.^[80]

IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodríguez (19–0, 12 KOs) defeated Jason Moloney via decision in October 2018, booking his place into the semi-final against Inoue. On 12 February 2019, the fight was set to take place at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on 18 May 2019.^[81] In April, Nonito Donaire defeated late replacement Stephon Young, to confirm his place in the final. Donaire stated he would 'love to fight' Inoue in the final, as the two have always respected each other.^[82]

On 3 May, The Ring Magazine, announced their vacant bantamweight title would be at stake. At the time, WBO champion Zolani Tete, who was ranked No. 2 with The Ring, withdrew from the tournament with injury. Editor-in-Chief, Doug Fischer, explained with Inoue and Rodríguez ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, the bout was worthy of being for the title, as both had earned their positions in the rankings.^[83]

This was seen as Inoue's toughest test, many believed that Rodríguez would be the one to topple Inoue, and go on to win the tournament. The skillfull Puerto Rican was considered the best bantamweight champion, thought to be the one who will rule the division for the next 5 years, and the tournament was seen as his coming out party.

On 18 May, Inoue advanced to the final by knocking out undefeated Rodríguez in the second round. Inoue dropped Rodríguez three times in quick succession before the fight was stopped at 1:20 of the second round. Inoue became the first fighter to stop Rodriguez.^[84] The fight against Rodriguez was broadcast live at 5am then tape delay on FujiTV. The tape delay drew 10% of watchers in the biggest province and 13.5% in the second biggest. Estimated to have had 10 million watch the fight.^[85]

Inoue faced four-weight world champion and current WBA (super) bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (40–5, 26 KOs) on 7 November 2019 in Saitama, Japan, for the World Boxing Super Series final. In a thrilling fight that saw incredible heart, grit, endurance, intelligence, and skill displayed by Inoue, as he battled 11 straight rounds with double vision, and ultimately won a comfortable unanimous decision with scores of 116–111, 117–109, 114–113. In doing so, he became the first fighter to defeat Donaire at bantamweight.^{[citation needed]}

Inoue started the fight very brightly. In the second round, a left hook from Donaire caused a serious cut above Inoue's right eye which affected his vision for the rest of the bout, but he fought back hard and in the fifth round had Donaire in trouble, who was saved by the bell. However, Donaire retained his composure and began to find some success, particularly in the ninth round where Donaire landed a strong right hand. During the eleventh round, Inoue landed a hard liver shot on Donaire, who turned away in pain before dropping to his knees. Many fans questioned the referee's actions as while Donaire was circling away, the referee seemed to come between the fighters and prevent Inoue from following up, before giving Donaire a long count, which led to Donaire being able to see the final bell. After the fight, Donaire and Inoue showed each other mutual respect, with Inoue lauding Donaire as "a true champion".^[86][87] Inoue was presented the Muhammad Ali Trophy by Fighting Harada. As the winner of the tournament, Inoue was awarded the honorary WBC Diamond belt. But he rejected it since he was not a WBC champion.^[88]

Afterwards, Inoue revealed he had suffered a fractured orbital bone in the second round causing him to see double and was fighting purely on instinct. He also suffered a broken nose.^[89] The fight was later voted the Ring magazine Fight of the Year.

Inoue was supposed to face WBO bantamweight titlist John Riel Casimero in a unification bout on 25 April 2020, before that fight was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inoue tried to reschedule the fight and was willing to take a paycut to do so, but Casimero declined, and fought Duke Micah instead on 26 September. Unable to reschedule the fight, Inoue faced future WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney (21–1, 18 KOs) as a replacement on 31 October at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Moloney's only loss was a close split decision to Emmanuel Rodríguez. Moloney was ranked No. 6 by The Ring, No. 1 by the WBO, No. 2 by the WBA and No. 4 by the IBF.^[90]

Inoue scored a seventh-round knockout victory. In the sixth round, a quick counter left hook sent Moloney down. In the seventh, a short right hand sent Moloney down for the second time. While he tried to get up, he did not have his senses, and referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2:59 of the round. Inoue became the first fighter to stop Moloney. During a post-fight interview with Inoue, he spoke about his wishes for future opponents: "The Nordine Oubaali-Nonito Donaire winner with the WBC title and Casimero with the WBO, they're within my sights are far as fights go."^[91]

Inoue faced his IBF mandatory challenger and current IBO bantamweight champion Michael Dasmariñas (30–2–1, 20 KOs) on 19 June 2021 in Paradise, Nevada.^[92] Dasmarinas was ranked No. 1 by the IBF and No. 8 by the WBA.^[93] He scored three knockdowns in the span of three rounds, each one with a left hook to the body of Dasmariñas, to win via third-round stoppage. After the fight, Inoue stated his desire to become the first undisputed champion in the bantamweight division, saying "Getting this win brings a smile to my face. The ability to face the winner of Donaire-Casimero brings an even bigger smile to my face."^[94]

It was announced on 21 October 2021 that Inoue would be defending his bantamweight world titles in a voluntary defense against IBF No. 6 ranked contender Aran Dipaen (12–2, 11 KOs) on 14 December 2021, at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.^[95] According to Inoue, his team first attempted to arrange bouts with Rau'shee Warren and Gary Antonio Russell, but were unable to do so with both turning down the fight and also Japan's strict coronavirus protocols made bringing in foreign fighters very difficult.^[96] Inoue's first domestic fight in over two years was streamed live simultaneously on Hikari TV and ABEMA PPV, marking it the first time that Inoue's domestic fight was not broadcast live on terrestrial television.^[97][98][99]

Inoue won the fight by an eight-round technical knockout. After having dominated every round, Inoue knocked Dipaen down with a left hook in the eighth round, and although Dipaen was able to beat the ten count, he was badly staggered by a second left hook as soon as the action resumed, which prompted referee Michiaki Someya to wave the fight off.^[100] Inoue earned a guaranteed purse of $500,000; $300,000 in show money and a $200,000 win bonus. His reported fight purse did not include PPV share and sponsorship payments.^[101] Inoue was later named the 2021 "Fighter of the Year" by the Japanese Boxing Commission.^[102]

Inoue made his fifth title defense as a unified bantamweight champion in a title unification bout with the reigning WBC champion Nonito Donaire on 7 June 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Donaire was ranked No. 1 by The Ring and TBRB. The fight was for lineal championship and rematch of their 7 November 2019 title unification bout, which Inoue won by unanimous decision.^[103] The bout was broadcast by Amazon Prime Video domestically in Japan, and by ESPN+ in the United States.^[104] It was also revealed that both Inoue and Donaire will be wearing punchers glove. With Inoue in Cleto Reyes and Donaire in Everlast MX. That is a huge shift as the pair had previously worn Winning gloves in their first fight, which are referred to as pillow gloves.

Many were expecting an extremely close fight, as Donaire was coming from two knockouts inside 4 rounds against WBC champion Nordine Oubaali and WBC interim champion Reymart Gaballo. To the surprise and shock of everyone, Inoue dominated Donaire and won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. After knocking Donaire down at the very end of the first round, Inoue once again staggered him with a left hook near the start of the second round, before finishing him with a flurry of punches at the 1:24-minute mark of the round. He became the only fighter to stop Donaire at bantamweight and also became Japan's first-ever three-belt titleholder in boxing history.^{[citation needed]} Inoue expressed his desire to fight the WBO champion Paul Butler in his post-fight interview, stating: "My aim is to be the undisputed champion. But if I can't, I am capable of [moving up] and fighting for a belt".^[105] Inoue was ranked as the number one pound for pound boxer by The Ring and TBRB after this victory, thus becoming the first Japanese boxer to reach that milestone.^[106][12] The fight achieved the highest first-day viewership of any title streamed in Japan's Amazon Prime Video history.^[107]

Inoue later revealed that he fought Donaire with a shoulder injury. Which he suffered prior to the Donaire fight in June which was more serious than expected. he was in good spirits and kept saying that he was in good condition. A month before the fight, Inoue said he couldn't even take off his clothes or roll over in bed. Keeping with the training schedule on painkillers and still managed to get the fight done. According to his doctor, it was arthritis and was going to take time to heal because of the wear and tear. Inoue was worried that it might be something he'd need to live with for the rest of his career, and was preparing himself mentally for that.^[108]

On 25 August 2022, it was announced that Inoue would face 2 time bantamweight champion and the current reigning WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler in a title unification bout. It took place on 13 December 2022, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, and was broadcast exclusively in Japan by dTV, initially only available to paying subscribers, but due to an error caused by a higher-than-expected number of accesses just before Inoue's bout, the bout was quickly made available for free without membership registration domestically and by ESPN+ in the United States.^[109][110] Inoue won the fight by an eleventh-round knockout, as he stopped Butler with repeated body shots at the 1:09-minute mark of the round. He was up 100–90 on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage and had out-landed Butler 151 to 38 in total punches, with 97 of those being power punches. Inoue announced his intention to move up to super bantamweight in the post-fight interview, stating: "I was able to make this goal of becoming undisputed world champion. Now, I'm considering going up to super bantamweight."^{[111][112][113]}

With this victory, Inoue became the first undisputed bantamweight champion since Enrique Pinder in 1972 and the first undisputed bantamweight champion in four-belt era. He also became the first-ever Japanese and Asian boxer to claim undisputed championship status in the three- or four-belt era,^[114] as well as the first and only boxer in history to defeat all four major sanctioning organisation champions by knockout. Inoue became undisputed by taking one belt at a time, which is a historical first at bantamweight. And with this win, he also set the new record for the most wins in unified title bouts in bantamweight history, at 7, surpassing the great bantamweight legend Rubén Olivares.^[115] Inoue vacated all five titles on 13 January 2023, as he moved up to super bantamweight.^[116]

On 18 January 2023, it was revealed that Inoue had entered into negotiations with the undefeated unified super bantamweight world champion Stephen Fulton.^[117] This was considered Inoue's toughest test. Fulton was recognized as the best super bantamweight in the world, and was ranked No. 1 by The Ring and TBRB. The fight was expected to take place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, on 7 May 2023, and would have been broadcast by Lemino domestically and ESPN+ in the United States.^[118] The fight was postponed on 21 March, as Inoue suffered a fist injury during training camp.^[119] The bout was rescheduled for 25 July 2023, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.^[120][121] The day before the fight, Fulton's trainer complained about Inoue's hand wraps and accused him of loading gloves. Even though Inoue's hand wraps were legal in Japan, where the fight was taking place. Fulton's trainer threatened to pull out of the fight if Inoue did not agree to change his hand wraps. Inoue agreed to wrap his hands to the liking of Fulton's trainer even though he was recovering from his fist injury.^[122]

Inoue won the fight by an eighth-round technical knockout. Inoue outboxed fulton from start to finish in a fight where most believed was a 50-50 fight. In the eighth round, he first knocked Fulton down with a left hook and forced referee Hector Afu to stop the contest with a flurry of unanswered punches soon thereafter, from which Fulton went down to the canvas yet again.^[123] Inoue had out-landed his opponent 114 to 47 in total punches and 70 to 24 in power punches by that point.^[124] He became the first true Japanese fighter to win major titles in four weight classes, as Kazuto Ioka had won secondary titles.^[125]

After the victory, Inoue invited unified WBA (Super) and IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales into the ring, who was present at the fight. Tapales challenged Inoue to an undisputed showdown and Inoue accepted the challenge. The two unified champions shook hands for a fight later this year.

On 21 August 2023, it was reported that Inoue had entered into negotiations with two division champion and current unified WBA (Super) and IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales for an undisputed title bout.^[126] The fight was also for lineal championship and took place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on 26 December 2023.^[127][128]

Inoue won the fight by tenth-round knockout to become the first ever undisputed super bantamweight champion and a two-division undisputed champion, just a year after fully unifying the bantamweight division. Tapales was knocked down in the fourth round and again in the tenth, with the second knockdown rendering him unable to rise from the canvas in time to beat the count.^[129] Inoue out-landed Tapales 146 to 52 in total punches and 114 to 43 in power punches.^[130] This was Inoue's 19th recorded KO in 21 world title fights, bringing his KO rate to 90.4%, which is the highest KO rate in the history of world title matches.^[131]

On 8 January 2024, it was reported that Inoue would make his first title defense as an undisputed champion against the WBC mandatory title challenger and former two division champion, Luis Nery.^[132][133] The bout was scheduled for 6 May 2024 at Tokyo Dome and was the first boxing match taking place at the venue since 1990.^[134][135] Despite suffering the first knockdown of his professional career in the opening round, nonetheless, Inoue dominated and won the fight by a sixth round knockout. He dropped Nery once in the second round and again in the fifth round, before a third and final knockdown in the sixth round ended the fight.^[136] After the fight, Nery did not attend the post fight presser and was taken straight to the hospital for precaution.^[137][138] Due to the significance of this bout, Inoue was awarded the honorary WBC Diamond belt. Inoue outlanded his opponent 107 to 54 in total punches and 62 to 34 in power punches.^[139] After this victory, Inoue was ranked as the number one pound for pound boxer for the second time in his career by The Ring and TBRB.^[140][141] This fight set the record for the highest peak viewership in Japan's Amazon Prime Video history, surpassing the 2023 World Baseball Classic finals between Japan and the United States.^[142]

After defending the title against Nery, Inoue's IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman came into the ring to challenge him to a fight. Inoue accepted Goodman's challenge and tried to negotiate a fight for September, but during negotiations Goodman backed out and announced his own fight against Chainoi Worawut for 10 July. With Goodman unavailable, former champion and WBO No. 2 ranked Doheny was brought in as his replacement.^[143]

Inoue made the second defense of his undisputed super bantamweight title against former IBF super bantamweight champion TJ Doheny at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on 3 September 2024.^[144] Inoue successfully retained his undisputed title by stopping Doheny with a body shot. During the seventh round, Inoue landed a series of heavy body shots on Doheny, causing him to recoil from pain and limp away from Inoue. He then dropped to one knee, prompting referee Bence Kovacs to wave the fight off. The bout was officially stopped at 0:16 of the seventh round. Inoue became the first fighter to stop Doheny, outlanding him 93 to 52 in total punches and 64 to 41 in power punches.^[145]

On October 3, 2024, it was reported that Inoue would defend his undisputed super bantamweight title for the third time, against the undefeated IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman in Tokyo, Japan on December 24, 2024.^{[146][147][148]}

Naoya Inoue is married to his high school sweetheart and has three children.^[149] He is trained by his father Shingo Inoue, who is a former amateur boxer. He has one younger brother, Takuma Inoue, and one older cousin, Koki Inoue, both of whom are professional boxers.

• Boxing in Japan
• Notable boxing families
• List of Japanese boxing world champions
• List of world light-flyweight boxing champions
• List of world super-flyweight boxing champions
• List of world bantamweight boxing champions
• List of world super-bantamweight boxing champions
• List of boxing quadruple champions

• Boxing record for Naoya Inoue from BoxRec (registration required)
• Official website
• Naoya Inoue - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live