Naoya’s a nice guy but packs a huge punch
I HAVE yet to see Naoya Inoue throw a punch in the flesh. Don’t worry, it’s on my wish list.
There was no time at the Hydro last week on a big night for Josh Taylor (below) to slip up to the arena. Outside, we heard what had happened.
I’ve since seen the fight many times. Emmanuel Rodriguez was a good opponent. He might not be the best Puerto Rican ever, but unbeaten world champions from that neck of the woods are never a soft touch.
Rodriguez is tall and rangy and more than competent. He caught Inoue with some good shots in the first round.
Inoue (above) may be hittable, but wow, what a devastating puncher. There has never been a hammer like it from light flyweight to bantamweight. He has the same chilling power that Mikey Garcia had at featherweight and super feather. And he is riveting to watch.
The Ring Magazine has him at six in their poundfor-pound list. I would have him higher – top three. Though not the all-rounder Vasyl Lomachenko is, nor a technician like Terence Crawford, he hits harder than both.
Over and above his fighting qualities, I love his attitude. I met him earlier in Glasgow.
He is everything a fighter should be. You want a guy who is ruthless, puts opponents flat on their backs, yet remains graceful and charming outside the ropes. He is all that and more.
He turned up in Glasgow trailing an entourage of 120. Eighty were journalists.
There were several Japanese ex-world champs in the audience too, which speaks of his gravitas and the respect people have for him back home.
There was the usual argy-bargy at one of the public training sessions when Rodriguez’s coach Williams Cruz pushed Inoue’s father and trainer Shingo to stop him taking any more pictures.
Shingo just stepped back. There was no reaction from him or anyone in Inoue’s camp. They knew they had the answer in the ring.
Inoue was not present, but heard about it and vowed to give his response on the night. He now meets Nonito Donaire in the final of the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final.
Donaire is still potent at bantamweight, but Inoue blows them all away. My kind of fighter – in and out of the ring.