At 27, Naoya Inoue appears to be at the peak of his powers. The Japanese ‘Monster’ has already plundered three weight divisions yet the WBA Super and IBF bantamweight champion believes he is merely halfway through his thrilling career.
Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) will make his debut for US promotional powerhouse Top Rank against Australian Jason Moloney (21-1, 18 KOs) at the ‘Bubble’ in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on October 31, eight years after his pro bow against Crison Omayao (WKO4) at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
But the Japanese dynamo insists the Inoue story is nowhere near its conclusion.
“I have fought as a pro for eight years and will fight for eight more years,” said Inoue. “I am going to write my second chapter of my career, which will start from Las Vegas. I’d like to show a good performance. [Moloney is] durable, tough and highly skillful.
“It will be almost a year since I battled a gruelling war with Nonito Donaire [W12] last November. I then suffered an optical injury, but could completely recover thanks to [the Covid-19 enforced] postponement [of a fight against WBO 118lbs champion John Riel Casimero]. I’ll have a very good condition for this fight.”