Junior featherweight undisputed champion Naoya "The Monster" Inoue, widely regarded as one of the best fighters in the sport, has addressed the question of what lies ahead of his career.
Inoue, who was in New York City to receive the Fighter of the Year award from the Boxing Writers Association of America, attended Saturday night's bout at Madison Square Garden Theater and shared his thoughts during an interview with Mark Kriegel on the ESPN telecast.
Inoue, 31, has become a dominant force across multiple divisions, securing undisputed championships at bantamweight and junior featherweight in 2022 and 2023, respectively. When asked about his views on the best fighter in the world, Inoue responded confidently:
"For me, it is important for me to recognize myself as the best," he said, also expressing his admiration for the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence fight.
Watch Naoya Inoue's Destructive Knockout Power: Watch
Fans are eager to see Inoue take on new challenges, particularly a potential move to the featherweight division. After Bruce Carrington's victory over Brayan de Gracia on Saturday, Carrington acknowledged Inoue, as did IBF champion Luis Alberto Lopez.
Despite having already conquered the top contenders at junior featherweight, Inoue has not set a timeline for his move to featherweight.
"When I am ready to go up in weight and when my body is ready."
Another highly anticipated matchup for Inoue is a future bout with three-division Japanese titleholder Junto Nakatani, who recently claimed the WBC bantamweight title. Inoue praised Nakatani, saying:
"He is already a good fighter. In the future, it would be nice to look forward to fighting him."
Read more about this legendary Japanese by clicking here.
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