By Chris Williams: IBF/WBC bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue (21-0,18 KOs) will probably be defending towards little-known #6 IBF Allan Dipaen (12-2, 11 KOs) subsequent on December 14th in Kokugikan, Japan. This appears to be a business-level match for Inoue moderately than one that can curiosity boxing followers.
Inoue-Diapaen is the worst mismatch for the 28-year-old Inoue than his final one towards Michael Dasmarinas.
Inoue’s opposition getting worse
Fairly than ascending in his alternative of opposition, Inoue is descending in a race to the underside, and it’s laborious to know why. Inoue is able to beating much better competitors than Allan Dipaen.
It’s unclear who with Inoue’s group got here up with the concept for him to defend his IBF/WBC 118-lb titles towards Dipaen, however whoever it’s, they whiffed on this one.
Prime Rank promoter Bob Arum could be doing ESPN and the U.S boxing followers an enormous favor by not televising the Inoue vs. Dipaen struggle in the US, because it’s an terrible struggle on paper.
This mismatch is much worse than the Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos Jr. bout on November twenty seventh.
Naoya taking a HUGE step down in competitors
Inoue has constructed his fan base in the US with spectacular wins over Jason Maloney, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire, Juan Carlos Payano, and Jamie McDonnell. However there are not any phrases to explain how dreadful Inoue’s struggle with Dipaen seems to be.
Dipaen, 30, has been combating solely weak opposition since shedding to Tommy Frank in 2019. The Thailand fighter Dipaen comes into the struggle with Inoue having gained his final six fights towards horrible opposition, and, apparently, he’s been given a #6 rating with the IBF.
The query is, why is ‘Monster’ Inoue’s promoters at Prime Rank matching him towards such a poor opponent as Dipaen? The 30-year-old Dipaen is arguably the worst alternative of opponent for Inoue since his second professional struggle towards Bunnam Thammakhun (9-10)again in 2013.
Dipaen’s final seven opponents:
- Sukpraserd Ponpitak (26-11)
- Sapia Pohasae – debut (0-0)
- Mochamad Sholimin (5-9-1)
- Wisitsak Saiwaew (6-10)
- Jomar Fajardo (16-13-2)
- Wisitsak Saiwaew (6-8)
- Tommy Frank (16-2)
Dipaen misplaced to Tommy Frank by a 12 spherical break up resolution in September 2019, which has led to the Thailand fighter going through the six fodder-level opponents to get again on the profitable observe. Frank, by the best way, has misplaced two out of his final three fights.
You possibly can argue that it will make extra sense for ‘Monster’ Inoue to defend towards the British fighter Frank subsequent moderately than the man that he beat in Dipaen. Once more, there’s received to be some purpose behind Inoue combating Diapaen that boxing followers aren’t conscious of.
It seems like a business-level struggle to Chris Williams, much like Gennadiy Golovkin going through Ryota Murata in a mismatch on paper on December twenty ninth.
“Subsequent spherical December 14th (Tuesday) Ryogoku Kokugikan
Opponent is IBF sixth place Alan Dipaen (Thailand)
“It’s been two years because the match in Japan, so I’m actually trying ahead to it. Please sit up for it!” stated Naoya Inoue on Twitter.
