Naoya Inoue is not interested in moving up to 126 after knocking out TJ Doheny in the seventh round on Tuesday night at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) made his second defense of his undisputed super bantamweight title against 37-year-old Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs), who also suffered a back injury in the seventh round. Nothing Inoue did ended the fight.
Is Inoue Avoiding Tough Fights?
Doheny’s back couldn’t handle all the leaning he was doing to avoid Inoue’s punches and it ended up stopping him. After the fight, it was revealed that Inoue, 31, will remain at 122 and plans to defend against the IBF’s mandatory Sam Goodman on December 24 in Tokyo.’
When you see Inoue fight guys like Doheny and Luis Nery and target the small puncher Goodman, it’s hard not to conclude that he avoids tough fights. If Inoue was interested in fighting tough guys, he would have moved up to 126 earlier this year, and he wouldn’t have scheduled a fight with Goodman.
“You call him ‘The Beast,’ and you anoint him as this legendary figure, and you expect him to go up in weight and fight everybody all the time,” said analyst Chris Algieri on Inside Boxing Live’s YouTube channel. Naoya Inoue looked human in his fight with TJ Doheny on Tuesday night.
Inoue moved up in weight only four times, and now he is where he should have been from the beginning of his career. He remains dominant in the 112, 115, and 118-lb divisions. Now he’s fighting guys his size at 122, but this team is so lacking in talent that Inoue needs to move up to 126.
The Fear Factor
All the talented fighters are in that weight class because there is no need to fight at 122. After all, the only guy who should fight is Inoue. He will not fight with them because he is busy choosing.
“It’s always, ‘What’s next? Go to 126.’ Guys, you are human. He fights at 122. You are undersized; he is a little boy. Fourth, he is still stopping all these young men. “Throughout his career, he’s been going up against big guys with a lot of experience, but he’s still holding them back,” Algieri said.
The fans want to see Inoue move up to 126 because that’s where all the good fighters are. If the 122-lb division was filled with top-level fighters like the 126-lb division, fans wouldn’t be surprised by Inoue’s move up. 122 is full of old fighters, and fans want Inoue to move up to 126, where he will have endless big fights.
“It’s true that he doesn’t destroy guys with KOs like 118 and 115, but he’s human,” Algieri continued about Inoue. “He will refuse. He is 31 years old. He says he wants to do two more years in this weight class [122].”
What is Algieri talking about? Inoue is already showing some decline in the power and hand speed department. We saw that in his fights with Doheny, Marlon Tapales, and Luis Nery. Like many fighters who slow down in their 30s, Inoue is starting to show signs of decline, and that age. Inoue’s fans may not like to hear it, but they have to face the truth.
‘The Beast’ Inoue is aging and ready to be beaten. So, he is yet to show interest in fighting Murodjon Akhmadaliev or stepping up to fight the young lion Bruce Carrington, who is waiting to devour him at the age of 126.
That’s why Inoue chooses to stay focused at 122, choosing small fighter Sam Goodman for his next fight on December 24. Inoue is no longer willing to take any risks. Panic has set in and it’s got Inoue in his hands. He can’t be free and he doesn’t even try. It will take a power move to unseat Naoya to face the likes of Murodjon and Carrington.
Questioning His Skills
“I always say, ’33 is that magic number.’ 33 is when the boys start dipping. Inoue still has a few years left. I saw an interview on ESPN about what he was going to do next, and he was questioning his ability to move up. [to 126]. I’ve never heard him do that in an interview,” said Algieri.
Inoue’s comments that he is said to doubt his ability to move up may explain his reluctance to move up to 126 after achieving his goal of becoming the undefeated super bantamweight champion last December with his victory over Marlon Tapales. Fans expected Inoue to move up to featherweight after that win, but he didn’t. Instead, he stayed at 122, fighting Luis Nery and Doheny.
Giving the Fans What They Want?
“So, I think that’s really indicative, and I think it comes from 122. You see these guys. They are just bigger people than him. These fans are bashing him for being human. It’s crazy. You have to look at his career in full and understand that he is giving the fans what they want by fighting tough challenges at heavyweight,” Algieri said of Inoue.
The fans would argue with Algieri’s comments about Inoue giving them the fights they wanted at heavyweight because they didn’t want him to fight the washed-up Luis Nery or TJ Doheny. Those were Inoue’s children. He wanted those fights, not fans.
Fans wanted Inoue to fight these fighters:
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev
- Bruce Carrington
- Rafael Espinoza
- Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez
- Gervonta Davis
- Nick Ball
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