Two Fights That Could Prompt Inoue Early Move Up to the Featherweights
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 11 Nov 2024
Undisputed world super bantamweight king Naoya Inoue has been vacillating about moving up to the featherweights despite plans for such should he be successful in yet another mandatory title defense next month.
Inoue faces Australia's also undefeated challenger Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. That would be his third fight and mandatory defense of the 122 lbs titles for this year.
Should he be successful in dispatching Goodman, his co-promoters Ohashi and Top Rank plan to pit him against fast rising WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani in May 2025 either in Japan or the USA where there has also been great demands to see the two Japanese stars. Regardless of the result, Inoue is expected to eventually move up to the featherweights later next year.
However, two title bouts both set for December 14, ten days prior to Inoue-Goodman, one in Europe and another in the USA could affect, even alter this plan and prompt the early move of Naoya to the 126 lbs class.
On that date in Monte Carlo, Monaco, former Uzbek unified titlist and current mandatory challenger Morudjon AJ Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) will tangle against Mexico's Ricardo Espinosa Franco (30-4, 25 KOs) for the WBA interim world super bantamweight title. The bout is promoted by Matchroom of Eddie Hearn and will be streamed live via DAZN.
On the same date, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, former unified super bantamweight titleholder Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) will rematch against fellow American Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) this time with Figueroa's interim WBC featherweight title at stake.
The Monte Carlo fight is offshoot of an out of court settlement following the threat by the Akhmadaliev's camp to sue WBA if it does not strip Inoue of its title for continuous refusal to defend against Akhmadaliev. The understanding is that if MJ wins the interim title, the WBA will again order Inoue to take on the Uzbek next or be stripped with Akhmadaliev promoted as regular champion in failure to do so.
Chances are, Inoue will not again comply and hence face the real risk of being stripped by the WBA thereby losing his undisputed champion status at 122 lbs.
Except perhaps in the heavyweights (where the winner of the Oleksander Usyk-Tyson Fury bout has plan to face Daniel Dubois for all the titles) former undisputed champions as Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez have seemingly abandoned plans to regain their former status. Inoue could also follow that trend and move up to the featherweight and try to win another world championship there.
The scheduled Houston bout between Fulton and Figueroa could provide Inoue that very motivation.
It was against Fulton that Inoue won the first two of his current world titles at super bantamweights after Naoya had become undisputed champion at bantamweights the year before. Inoue knocked out Fulton in July 2023 and wrested his unified WBC and WBO crowns at 122 lbs. Inoue became undisputed super bantamweight champion when he knocked out Filipino unified WBA-IBF titlist Marlon Tapales and took his titles in December last year.
Meeting his former victim, Fulton with the WBC world featherweight title at stake, albeit interim, could be enough motivation for Inoue to try his hands, literally at featherweights.
Fulton is favored to repeat over Figueroa whom he has earlier beaten on points in 2021 in defense of his then unified super bantamweight crowns prior to losing it to Inoue two fights later. The American stylist came back from the loss by outpointing the highly regarded Carlos Castro in his move up to the featherweights.
However, it is not likely that Inoue will move up if Fulton loses to Figueroa. But we will never really know, what with Bob Arum as his main promoter in the USA.
Or if Naoya will vacate his (remaining?) titles at 122 lbs if ever he undeed moves up. In this eventuality,:the superbout with Nakatani in Japan remains alive.
Abangan natin ang mangyayari.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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