Naoya Inoue is perceived by many as the pound-for-pound number one in the sport and is one of just three men to have become a multi-divisional undisputed champion since the dawn of the four-belt era. Now, as a reward for his success, Inoue has capitalized on the recent influx of Saudi investment in boxing and signed a deal with Turki Al-Alshikh and Riyadh Season.
‘The Monster’ has been on an insane run over the last couple of years and has now extended his streak of fighting in 23 consecutive world title contests and winning them all.
During that time, we have witnessed Inoue progress from a light-flyweight to a super-bantamweight but it was at 118lbs where we truly saw him flourish, twice defeating the legendary Nonito Donaire before knocking out Paul Butler for the undisputed bantamweight title in late 2022.
In the twelve months that followed his victory over Butler, Inoue moved up to 122lbs and halted both of the unified champions, Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales, to become a super-bantamweight undisputed champion and he has since defended that title on two occasions during 2024.
This isn't normal. Moving up another division and dominating a fighter like Fulton, is stupendous. Goodness me, Inoue is the monster everyone is saying he is.#FultonInoue#InoueFultonpic.twitter.com/gadCkQ7cXu
— Gorilla Productions (@GPboxing) July 25, 2023
INOUE DOES IT 🏆🇯🇵
Two-division undisputed champion and now quite possibly the pound-for-pound number one and 2023 Fighter of the Year.
Round 10 KO over the tough Marlon Tapales, who had his moments and gave a good account of himself.#InoueTapales
— Teats 🥊 (@teaton73) December 26, 2023
In December, the Japanese phenomenon is scheduled to make a third defence of his belts this calendar as he gears up to meet Australia’s Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve.
Yet, ahead of the clash, it has now been announced that Inoue has signed a lucrative deal with Riyadh Season that is reportedly worth around £15 million, although there is no requirement in place for Inoue to fight in Saudi Arabia as a part of the agreement.
Beaming with pride, Turki Al-Alshikh told Yahoo Sports Japan that he hopes Inoue will prove to be an ‘important ambassador for Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season’.
“Inoue is the best and strongest boxer of all time. He has a great interest in Japan and the Japanese market. I hope he will be a good and important ambassador for Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season.”
Meanwhile, Inoue added that he is open to fighting in Saudi Arabia, revealing that his 2025 plan is not yet decided, despite recent comments from promoter Bob Arum that suggested otherwise.
“I think it’s all about timing. This year’s fight [against Goodman] has been decided. I don’t know what will happen next year. If I can fight in Saudi Arabia, I’ll just live up to those expectations. I think I’ll just perform the way I do in Japan.”
Alternatively, we could potentially see Riyadh Season head to Tokyo in support of their new recruit or even stage the in-demand Inoue fight in the United States in early 2025, likely against Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
For now, Inoue will remain focussed on the job at hand against Goodman on December 24th, but what comes in 2025 could mark a turning point for boxing, as the sport’s biggest superstars may opt to join the 31-year-old in signing official and fruitful deals with Al-Alshikh’s Saudi outfit.
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