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Naoya Inoue has revealed his plans to become the Undisputed Bantamweight World Champion within this year.
This comes after ‘The Monster’ made quick work of Nonito Donaire to unify the WBC, IBF, WBA, and The Ring Bantamweight World Titles.
The opening round of the 2019 ‘Fight of the Year’ rematch started slow, with both fighters feeling each other out. The action suddenly picked up in the final 10 seconds after Inoue dropped ‘The Filipino Flash’ with a sneaky right hand.
The 39-year-old Donaire was able to stand back up and finish the round. However, he didn’t appear to have recovered from the damage going into the second round. Sensing blood, Inoue ramped up his attacks and knocked out the Filipino legend en route to a second-round technical knockout victory.
In his post-fight interview, Inoue paid respect to the future Hall-of-Famer for stepping up to the challenge and for putting his WBC belt on the line. He said via translator:
“At the very first round, I received a left hook from Nonito. That punch woke me up, and I know had to stay focused for the rest of the fight… Without Nonito I can’t do this. After our first fight, two years and seven months later, he won the WBC Bantamweight Title and came back to fight against me. That’s why we are here. So thank you so much Nonito for everything.”
When asked about his future plans, the 29-year-old said:
“My aim is to be the Undisputed Champion. If I can do that within this year of 2022, I would love to stay in this division but if I can’t, I am capable of raising my division and fighting again in the higher division.”
Paul Butler on Naoya Inoue’s radar
Naoya Inoue’s post-fight announcements mean he will seek the WBO Bantamweight Title, the lone belt at 118 pounds that does not belong to him.
The belt is currently held by Paul Butler, who was elevated to full championship status in May after the WBO stripped John Riel Casimero of the title. The Brit last fought in April, defeating Filipino Jonas Sultan via unanimous decision to claim the WBO Interim Bantamweight Title.
With his latest win in front of his home crowd, Inoue improved to an impressive 23-0 win-loss record, including 20 knockouts.
Watch Naoya Inoue finish Nonito Donaire in round two of their rematch:
