Naoya Inoue is one of the most fearsome punchers and accomplished boxers in the sport right now and he has recently revealed whether he will ever again ply his trade in the United States.
Inoue has accomplished huge amount in a short space of time – he has been champion at light flyweight, and super flyweight, and has become undisputed at both bantamweight and super bantamweight.
He says he plans to fight three times this year and that his weight ceiling will most likely be featherweight, meaning that fights with the likes of Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis may be a step too far.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, ‘The Monster’ also spoke about how he feels with regard to the US market.
“I’m starting to care about that a lot. Winning an award like the Fighter of the Year should help my status. I don’t live in the United States, so I have no idea how many people are interested in boxing, or how many of them are interested in me, but I’m starting to pay attention to online articles more.”
He added that he is keen to fight Stateside again.
“I always have a desire to fight in the U.S. Yes, I definitely want to fight there again. However, Japan is now becoming a big market too. I think the reason behind wanting to capture the “American Dream” is that if you accomplish something in the U.S, name recognition and big money will follow.
“But, nowadays, in this streaming era, if you are successful in Japan, you can make millions even in the lighter-weight divisions. That’s why [Stephen] Fulton came to Japan, and the big fights are easier to make in Japan.”
Finally, he detailed how long he thinks he has left.
“Now I am entering the last five years. I have been thinking of the first five years, the middle five years, and the last five years.”
So long as he is here, Inoue is likely to remain once of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.