Weight classes are usually set in place for a fighter’s safety and to prevent gross mismatches. Naoya Inoue, however, doesn’t seem to abide by those rules.
For the Japanese star, moving up in weight hasn’t slowed him down in the slightest. After aggregating every world title at 118 pounds, the 30-year-old is just one fight away from repeating that feat at 122 pounds. Marlon Tapales remains the final hurdle for Inoue’s historic dreams. But ultimately, fans view him as an inconsequential speed bump on Inoue’s way to becoming a back-to-back undisputed champion.
Before they officially jump into the ring, his supporters are already playing fantasy matchmaker. No one at 126 or 130 pounds quite captures their imagination but a fight with Gervonta Davis at 135 pounds is something that many are craving. Even Davis (25-0, 22 KOs) himself has admitted that a matchup with Inoue would be terrific. But while the current unified super bantamweight champ knows that many around the world would love to see it, he believes that the gap in their weight would be too much to turn their mega showdown into a reality.
“I don’t think it’s possible,” said Inoue to Sean Zittel of FightHype.com. “It’s more of a hype that fans are putting together.”
While the two might be going their separate ways, in most instances, the pair are joined at the hip on countless pound-for-pound lists. In the case of Inoue, he normally finds himself at the very top of said list or just behind Terence Crawford. Davis, on the other hand, is typically in the bottom half of those lists.
Although he understands that it’s all conjecture, Inoue doesn’t agree with anyone who doesn’t have Davis ranked considerably high on their mythical lists.
“I think of him very highly. If he’s on the lower part of the pound-for-pound, I think he should be up a little further.”
