Naoya Inoue (Ohashi Boxing Gym) appeared at the preview of his first-ever special exhibition, “THE DAY,” in Kitaaoyama, Tokyo on the 22nd, and at a fan event limited to 150 people declared, “I want to take on the featherweight challenge together with all of you.” The exhibition looks back on the Junto Nakatani fight, which drew 55,000 fans to the Tokyo Dome on May 2 this year, displaying items like the gown he wore that day and his four unified championship belts. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board, some speculated that Inoue’s camp might avoid featherweight champion Espinoza as a move-up opponent in favor of Leo or Carrington instead, sparking a split reaction over the maneuvering around the size difference and purse negotiations.
The first-ever special exhibition of professional boxing’s undisputed world super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (Ohashi), “Naoya Inoue THE DAY Exhibition — What Did You Witness That Day?,” opened on the 22nd in Kitaaoyama, Tokyo (World Kitaaoyama Building 1F Exhibition Space, 3-5-10 Kitaaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo).
The special exhibition looks back on the historic bout against challenger Junto Nakatani (M.T) at the Tokyo Dome on May 2 this year — witnessed by a Japanese-record crowd of 55,000 — through displays including the gown Inoue wore that day and his four actual championship belts. On show are items sure to make any boxing fan drool, including the WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF belts he defended by beating Nakatani on a 3-0 decision, as well as THE RING magazine’s belt recognizing him as the “strongest champion.” The pre-fight press conference venue was recreated, with panels detailing the course of the 12-round fight, and numerous previously unreleased photos from the locker room were also unveiled.
Inoue himself attended the preview held before the public opening, remarking, “It turned out even better than I expected. I hope everyone who comes will enjoy it.” At the 150-person fan event, held at his own request, there was also a Q&A session with fans. Asked how wary he’d been of Nakatani, he said, “Top-level. His height, reach, southpaw stance, and depth — he was top-level among all 33 of my past fights.” When asked what type of opponent could be his natural enemy, he gently deflected: “If any fighter saw this and thought it was a weakness, that would be giving away a trade secret, so I’ll keep that to myself.”
Source: hochi.news / Original article here
Strong.
His reach is absurdly long, he throws a ton of punches, and his stamina's bottomless.
Honestly even Inoue would have a hard time, but if Inoue overcomes that handicap and knocks out Espinoza, he'll have surpassed Pacquiao.
He's strong, specialized in hunting down smaller guys.
Maybe because of the size gap, his defense is loose and he eats a lot of shots too.
But it might be tough with Inoue's punches, since he can't even finish guys off cleanly at super bantamweight anymore.
Because it's a lower weight class.
He's clearly small even at super bantamweight, so this is surely a stretch.
If he just farms weak opponents, he won't be able to make matches anymore, will he?
He's said all along that featherweight would be his last stop, newbie.
Espinoza is the standout one.
If Inoue moves up too, then they can't fight each other, can they?
I think Leo would probably be the easiest matchup, but as a fight, Carrington might be the more interesting one.
Featherweight and super featherweight are exactly the same as bantamweight and super bantamweight in that regard — real popularity starts from lightweight up.
In fact, super featherweight and featherweight have had even more Japanese world champions than super bantamweight.
I think it was actually Takahiro Aou.
It's just plain negotiating tactics — everyone wants to get the most favorable position possible. And of course, since it's a negotiation, you can fail at it. Bam's camp failed.
Height 185cm, Reach 188cm
Naoya Inoue
Height 165cm, Reach 171cm
https://gzo.ai/i/bfyLlKK.jpg
185cm and fighting at featherweight — that's absurdly skinny.
Featherweight limit is 57.15kg. 185cm and making that weight — seriously, that's insane. Can he win on reach length alone, more than raw strength?
Can Inoue's punches even reach him? Guess that's a pretty tough ask.
That guy's (Pacquiao's) just abnormal. Though he's not undefeated either.
At this rate there's no way he beats Gushiken's defense record, so winning titles across multiple weight classes is the only option left.
He needs to move up to featherweight before Bam's body fully fills out.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Super bantamweight, Inoue’s current unified division, has — by his own admission — become a weight class where it’s hard to find opponents. Featherweight, meanwhile, hasn’t produced a notable Japanese champion since Takahiro Aou, and the current champion, Espinoza, stands 185cm with a 188cm reach, a huge size gap compared to Inoue. What split opinion in the thread was how to judge the speculation that Inoue’s camp might avoid this “final boss” Espinoza in favor of Leo or Carrington — some saw it as “cheap,” while others treated it as par for the course in purse and matchmaking negotiations. There was also pushback against the premise that “featherweight isn’t popular,” with some pointing out it’s actually a division that has produced plenty of Japanese world champions — a reminder that general impressions of the lighter weight classes can diverge from reality. Given that this move-up announcement comes right after the Nakatani fight (which drew 55,000 fans), the choice of his next opponent will shape his unified-champion strategy going forward.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Boxing] Naoya Inoue Declares to Fans: “I Want to Take On the Featherweight Challenge Together With All of You” — First Special Exhibition.”
