Naoya Inoue says he's the best pound-for-pound boxer right now. The Japanese fighter known as "The Monster" made this claim during a recent appearance on the Cigar Talk podcast.
At 32 years old, Inoue has put together an impressive career. He's from Kanagawa, Japan, and has a perfect professional record of 30 wins with no losses. What's even more striking is that 27 of those wins came by knockout.
Inoue has achieved something rare in boxing. He's become the undisputed champion in not just one, but two weight classes. First, he conquered the bantamweight division. Then, he moved up and did the same in the super-bantamweight category, where he currently holds all the belts.
On May 4, Inoue defended his super-bantamweight titles in Las Vegas against Ramon Cardenas. The fight turned out to be a thriller. Cardenas shocked everyone by flooring Inoue in the second round. But "The Monster" lived up to his nickname, bouncing back to stop Cardenas in the eighth round.
Many boxing fans and experts already consider Inoue one of the best fighters today. He's often mentioned in the same breath as heavyweights like Oleksandr Usyk and welterweight star Terence Crawford when discussing the pound-for-pound rankings.
But Inoue isn't shy about where he thinks he stands. On the Cigar Talk podcast, he stated:
"I do this because I believe I am number one [pound-for-pound]."
Looking ahead, there's talk of Inoue facing Murodjon Akhmadaliev, the former IBF super-bantamweight champion, in September. While it's not official yet, this fight could give Inoue another chance to prove why he thinks he's the best in the world.
