By Linda Ximba
After ruling the bantamweight division with an iron fist, unbeaten Japanese boxer Naoya “Monster” Inoue has announced his move up to boxing’s super-bantamweight.
And he has set his sights on becoming the undisputed world champion again, just one month after claiming all the bantamweight belts.
He became the first undisputed world bantamweight champion in half a century when he beat England’s Paul Butler in December to add the WBO title to his WBC, WBA and IBF belts.
The 29-year-old Inoue, who has a 24-0 record with 21 knock-outs, said he was moving up a weight class because there was “nothing left to do and no one I want to fight” in the bantamweight division.
“It will be a challenge against opponents who are bigger than me but this is the real fight coming up,” said Inoue, who previously held world titles at light-flyweight and super-flyweight.
“I’m really excited about it.”
Inoue knocked out Butler in the 11th round in Tokyo to become the first undisputed bantamweight world champion since Panama’s Enrique Pinder in 1972.
He also became only the ninth undisputed world champion since the four-belt era began in 2004, and the first in the bantamweight division.
No man has ever achieved the feat in more than one weight class, but Inoue believes he can write a new chapter in boxing history.
“Even moving up to super-bantamweight, I still want to aim to become the undisputed champion,” he said.
“To be undisputed champion in two weight classes would be a world first and a fantastic achievement, and that’s something I want to aim for.”
Inoue and his team would not be drawn on the identity of his next potential opponent, but he said he was willing to take on a top fighter straight away.
Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev is the current WBA and IBF world super-bantamweight champion, while American Stephen Fulton holds the WBC and WBO belts.
Pictured above: Naoya “Monster” Inoue has vacated his titles
Image source: The Japanese Times
