1. Naoya Inoue has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, and is one of only three male boxers in history to become the undisputed champion in two weight classes in the "four-belt era".
57 Facts About Naoya Inoue
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Naoya Inoue is the first and only boxer to win the undisputed championship at super bantamweight, having held all four major world titles since 2023, as well as the Ring magazine title.
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Naoya Inoue became the first undisputed bantamweight champion since Enrique Pinder in 1972, and the first boxer in history to do so in the four-belt era.
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Naoya Inoue was named Fighter of the Year in 2023 by The Ring, the Boxer Writers Association of America, and ESPN.
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Naoya Inoue won the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting and the Japanese Junior National Championships in 2009.
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Naoya Inoue then participated in the AIBA Youth World Championships, but lost to Yosvany Veitia in the third preliminary round.
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Naoya Inoue finished in the second place at the Japanese National Championships in the same year.
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Naoya Inoue subsequently won the first place in the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting in that year.
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Naoya Inoue holds a KO win over Kenshiro Teraji in the amateurs.
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On 5 January 2013, Naoya Inoue made a light work of Thai national champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana, by scoring a first-round knockout.
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However, in the third round, Naoya Inoue injured his right fist when his right straight hit Sano's head.
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On 25 August 2013, Naoya Inoue captured the Japanese light flyweight title from Ryoichi Taguchi.
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Naoya Inoue then fought for the vacant OPBF light flyweight title against Filipino light flyweight champion Jerson Mancio on 6 December 2013 on the undercard of Yaegashi-Sosa.
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Naoya Inoue defeated Mancio with a 5th-round TKO to claim the regional title.
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On 5 September 2014, Naoya Inoue faced Samartlek Kokietgym at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, winning every round on all scorecards.
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Naoya Inoue knocked his opponent down in the fourth and sixth rounds, and won by TKO in the eleventh round at 1 minute and 8 seconds, successfully defending his title for the first time.
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In November 2014, Naoya Inoue vacated his light flyweight title and moved up two weight classes to super flyweight to challenge two division champion and current WBO junior bantamweight title holder Omar Andres Narvaez.
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Naoya Inoue won the fight by body shot KO in the 2nd round.
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On 8 May 2016, Naoya Inoue faced his WBO challenger David Carmona.
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Naoya Inoue's third defense came against Petchbarngborn Kokietgym on 4 September 2016.
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Kokietgym and Naoya Inoue won the fight by KO at 3 minutes and 3 seconds of round 10, successfully defending his title for the third time.
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Shortly after Gonzalez's win over Cuadras, representatives of Naoya Inoue sent a formal offer to Gonzalez for what would've been a unification showdown.
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Gonzalez stipulated that the terms offered for an Naoya Inoue fight weren't good enough, and turned down the contract.
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Naoya Inoue joined the HBO Boxing After Dark card "Superfly" set at the StubHub Center on 9 September 2017 against Antonio Nieves and Naoya Inoue won the bout.
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Naoya Inoue dropped Boyeaux four times before referee Raul Caiz Jr.
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On 6 March, Naoya Inoue held a press conference in Japan announcing he would be making his bantamweight debut against WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on 25 May 2018.
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McDonnell was sent down to the canvas after Naoya Inoue landed a left hook to his temple.
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Naoya Inoue became the only fighter to stop McDonnell and defeat him at bantamweight.
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Naoya Inoue connected with a jab before blasting Payano with a straight right hand that put Payano flat on his back and unable to continue.
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Naoya Inoue dropped Rodriguez three times in quick succession before the fight was stopped at 1:20 of the second round.
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Naoya Inoue was set to face Nonito Donaire in the World Boxing Super Series finals on 7 November 2019.
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Naoya Inoue revealed he had suffered a fractured orbital bone and broken nose during the fight.
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Naoya Inoue landed a short right hand to drop Moloney and score a knockout victory.
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Naoya Inoue faced his IBF mandatory challenger and current IBO bantamweight champion Michael Dasmarinas on 19 June 2021 in Paradise, Nevada.
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Naoya Inoue scored three knockdowns in the span of three rounds, each one with a left hook to the body of Dasmarinas, to win via third-round stoppage.
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Naoya Inoue knocked Dipaen down with a left hook in the eighth round, and staggered Dipaen by a second left hook as soon as the action resumed, which prompted referee Michiaki Someya to wave the fight off.
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Naoya Inoue was later named the 2021 "Fighter of the Year" by the Japanese Boxing Commission.
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Naoya Inoue made his fifth title defense as a unified bantamweight champion in a title unification bout with the reigning WBC champion Nonito Donaire on 7 June 2022, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
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Naoya Inoue became the only fighter to stop Donaire at bantamweight.
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Naoya Inoue was ranked as the number one pound for pound boxer by The Ring and TBRB after this victory, thus becoming the first Japanese boxer to reach that milestone.
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Naoya Inoue won the fight by an eleventh-round knockout, as he stopped Butler with repeated body shots at the 1:09-minute mark of the round.
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Naoya Inoue became the first-ever Japanese and Asian boxer to claim undisputed championship status in the three- or four-belt era, as well as the first and only boxer in history to defeat all four major sanctioning organisation champions by knockout.
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Naoya Inoue vacated all five titles on 13 January 2023, as he moved up to super bantamweight.
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On 18 January 2023, it was revealed that Naoya Inoue had entered into negotiations with the undefeated unified super bantamweight world champion Stephen Fulton.
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Naoya Inoue had out-landed his opponent 114 to 47 in total punches and 70 to 24 in power punches by that point.
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On 21 August 2023, it was reported that Naoya Inoue had entered into negotiations with two division champion and current unified WBA and IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales for an undisputed title bout.
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Naoya Inoue won the fight by tenth-round knockout to become the first ever undisputed super bantamweight champion and a two-division undisputed champion, just a year after fully unifying the bantamweight division.
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On 8 January 2024, it was reported that Naoya Inoue would make his first title defense as an undisputed champion against the WBC mandatory title challenger and former two division champion, Luis Nery.
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Naoya Inoue dropped Nery once in the second round and again in the fifth round, before a third and final knockdown in the sixth round ended the fight.
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Naoya Inoue made the second defense of his undisputed super bantamweight title against former IBF super bantamweight champion TJ Doheny at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on 3 September 2024.
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Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed title by stopping Doheny with a body shot.
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Naoya Inoue then dropped to one knee, prompting referee Bence Kovacs to wave the fight off.
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On 3 October 2024, it was reported that Naoya Inoue would defend his undisputed super bantamweight title for the third time, against the undefeated IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman in Tokyo, Japan on 24 December 2024.
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Naoya Inoue was scheduled to make the fourth defense of his undisputed super bantamweight title against Ramon Cardenas at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on 4 May 2025.
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Naoya Inoue is married to his high school sweetheart and has three children.
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Naoya Inoue is trained by his father Shingo Inoue, who is a former amateur boxer.
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Naoya Inoue has one younger brother, Takuma Inoue, and one older cousin, Koki Inoue, both of whom are professional boxers.