By: Sean Crose
Twenty-three wins. No loss. All but three wins came by knockout. Naota Inoue certainly has a great resume. But this is not a buffer record. In a career spanning ten years, the man known as “The Beast” has faced off against a prominent figure in some of the sport’s lower weight classes, subsequently winning titles. world in base fly class, super fly class and bantam class. Now turning 30, Inoue will face 34-year-old Paul Butler in his native Japan on Tuesday.
Paul, the owner of the WBO bantamweight belt, is no slouch. The British tennis player is an efficient patient boxer as well as an excellent counter-attacker. However, Inoue was Tuesday’s favorite player – and with good reason. Because it’s hard not to see the man in action without being impressed. The IBF, WBA, and WBC bantamweight champion clearly has great basic skills, but what’s remarkable about Inoue is that he doesn’t think much in the ring when he’s competing, as if he’s in a mode. autopilot.
That is not a criticism. On the contrary, it was a testament to the man’s natural talent, which he had clearly honed into a razor-sharp skill through hard work. There’s a reason Inoue appears at or near the top of so many pound lists – because he belongs there. With that in mind, shocking things happen in boxing almost regularly. If Butler plays Buster Douglas with Inoue’s Mike Tyson in Japan (where Tyson-Douglas got down) on Tuesday, he’ll have a highly-regarded name around the world fighting. However, to achieve such an amazing disappointment, Butler will have to work hard against Inoue.
