By Norm Frauenheim
Naoya Inoue’s astonishing career continues without any apparent limits.
There are 10 straight knockouts, 22 in title fights. There are four titles in four weight classes, two undisputed. He’s unbeaten, and for now unchallenged.
Yet, he talks as if his resume is somehow incomplete. He talks about his career as though it’s more of a search for identity than just another fight.
Inoue, Japan’s Rising Son, wants to know more about himself.
“I don’t know how complete I am as a boxer,’’ Inoue said.
That might surprise Ye Joon Kim, who was destroyed in another thorough beat down delivered by Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) at home in Tokyo Friday with still another deadly display of tactical efficiency and predatory instinct.
The result, a fourth-round knockout of Kim in a junior-featherweight title defense, was also thoroughly predictable. Kim (21-3-2, 13 KOs) was a late stand-in for Sam Goodman, an Australian forced to withdraw because of a nasty cut suffered in training. But we expect a lot from Inoue these days. Anything less than dominance would be disappointment.
Kim didn’t have a chance. Goodman wouldn’t have either. That, of course, has raised a familiar chorus of skepticism. Terence Crawford, an Inoue rival alongside Oleksandr Usyk in the pound-for-pound debate, has heard the same questions. They go all the way back to Joe Louis’ Bum Of The Month during his heavyweight reign.
Dominance is double edged. Too much of it, and fans begin to doubt because of inevitable questions about the quality of the opposition.
Inoue might wonder himself.
Might wonder, too, about how more complete he can be against fighters perceived to be real threats. Fighters like Junto Nakatani, or Murodjon Akhmadaliev, or Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Against them, perhaps, Inoue will be forced to extend himself beyond the limits of what it means to be complete.
That journey in self-discovery begins — appropriately enough — on the road. Inoue confirmed what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told The Boxing Hour/15 rounds and Boxing Scene in early December while in Phoenix for Emanuel Navarrete’ stoppage of Oscar Valdez in a rematch. Inoue said he will leave the comforts of home and the intense loyalty of Japanese fans for the first time in nearly four years.
“Yes, 2025 will be a big year for me to go overseas to have a fight,’’ Inoue said during a post-fight monologue that was seen on ESPN+ in the early-morning hours in the United States. “In spring of 2025, I’ll be going to Las Vegas to show the great match. I am planning to have fights in Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia this year.’’
Arum, who likened Inoue to Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, foresees an Inoue fight in Vegas in April or May. The initial road test is not expected to present Inoue with a steep challenge. The opposition figures to be more like Kim than Bam.
Both The Boxing Hour/15 Rounds and Boxing Scene reported in early December that there had been some preliminary talks about Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs), a Mexico City junior-featherweight with the perfect last name for Inoue’s masterpiece of a career.
So far, it’s been an artistic run, one summed up Friday with a body assault that — in the end —was punctuated by a head-rocking, left-right combo. At 2:25 of the fourth, Inoue was already planning to hit the road.
“The great country of Japan has given Ohtani to the city of Los Angeles, and at least for one fight, the great country of Japan will give this great Inoue to the city of Las Vegas for one fight this spring,” said the 93-year-old Arum, who was at ringside at Ariake Arena.
For the 31-year-old Inoue, it’s an opportunity to introduce and re-introduce himself to fans whose only opportunity to see him has been in the early-morning hours. Hitting the road is another way of saying he’s going global, all in an attempt to become a complete craftsman and the game’s first real cross-over star since Manny Pacquiao.
Jesus Ramos wants Lubin rematch
Colleague Marc Abrams broke some news this week on his 15 Rounds podcast in an interview with Jose Ramos Jr., who fights former junior-middleweight champion Jeison Rosario Feb. 1 on the card featuring fellow Arizonan David Benavidez against David Morrell at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
The fight is Ramos’ second since a controversial scorecard loss to Erickson Lubin in September 2023. Ramos, who stopped Johan Gonzalez last May in his first fight since his lone loss, says he’s seeking a rematch.
“Definitely,’’ said Ramos (22-1, 17 KOs), who lives and trains in Casa Grande, south of Phoenix. “We’ve been trying. Whenever he’s ready.’’
Rosario’s power poses a threat in what’s an interesting fight and perhaps a step toward a rematch. Lubin (18-2, 8 KOs), of Orlando, stopped Rosario (29-4-2, 23 KOs), dropping the Dominican twice in the sixth round nearly four years ago in Atlanta.
Ramos, now 23, says there are lessons in the loss, controversial because of a couple of widely different scores, all favoring Lubin — 117-111, 116-112, 115-113. When announced, there were lots of boos from a crowd at T-Mobile for Canelo Álvarez’ decision over Jermell Charlo.
The defeat, Ramos said, changed his mindset.
“I’m learning more, growing as a person,’’ he said.
