Naoya Inoue has been told he should be fighting in the USA if he is to maximise his exposure but the multi-weight world champion has issued a defiant response.
Inoue is one of the most feared fights on the planet and has sat near the top of the pound-for-pound list for some time but is often asked about where he should be fighting.
‘The Monster’ is a hard-hitting box fighter who has recorded big wins over the likes of Nonito Donaire, Stephen Fulton, Paul Butler and many more.
He has held world championships in four weight classes, and is only the second male boxer ever to have achieved undisputed status in two separate weight divisions – bantamweight and super bantamweight – after Terence Crawford achieved the same feat.
His knockout ratio is just above 90% and that includes a stoppage win over Marlon Tapales back in December. Next up for him is a bout on May 6 when he defends his WBA Super, IBF, WBC, WBO Super, and The Ring Magazine titles.
It was recently put to him that to be a bigger star he should fight in the USA more rather than in his native Japan. His response came in a post on X, which has been translated from Japanese below.
“In response to the comment saying I should come to America and fight? The home of the lightweight division is now here in Japan.
If you want to see the fight, come to Japan.
“If there is something better than what is available in the Japanese market in America, I would be happy to go. That’s all worth it here in Japan.”
It seems that for now Inoue is perfectly happy with where he is at.