By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Naoya Inoue of Japan will be defending his IBF, WBA, and Ring Magazine Bantamweight Titles against WBC Champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines this Tuesday, June 7th. The 12-round rematch from Saitama, Japan can be seen live on ESPN+ in America with the card starting about 5am ET, while fans in Japan can catch it on Amazon Prime Video and those in the UK should be able to see it on You Tube. ‘The Monster’ Inoue last fought in December when he stopped Aran Dipaen in the eighth round. Donaire was last in action in December as well when he stopped Reymart Gaballo in the fourth round. Inoue and Donaire first met in November, 2019 in the fight of the year which saw Donaire dropped in the 11th round and lose a unanimous decision.
The 29-year-old Inoue advanced to the World Boxing Series Final and won the IBF belt when he stopped Emmanuel Rodriguez in the second round in May, 2019. He then beat Donaire by unanimous decision in a classic to capture the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight tournament as well as Donaire’s WBA Super World Belt six months later. Inoue had originally won the regular WBA title in May, 2018 when he stopped Jamie McDonnell in 112 seconds.
Inoue is also a former WBO Jr. Bantamweight and WBC Junior Flyweight Titleholder who has all the tools to be considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers and enters the ring at 22-0 with 19 Kos. He defended his Junior Bantamweight Crown seven times before moving up in weight. The Japanese star became a world champion in just his sixth pro fight when he stopped Adrian Hernandez in the sixth round for his WBC Junior Flyweight Belt in May, 2014.
He defended it once then moved up to super flyweight and took the title from Omar Narvaez by second-round KO in December, 2014. Inoue, known as ‘The Monster,’ has been a sensation in his homeland since turning pro in 2012 and has boxed 125 rounds since. He’s a hard hitter with good boxing skills and owns a very impressive 86.4 per cent knockout ratio.
Inoue stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach. Before turning pro he enjoyed a fine amateur career and is now 17-0 with 14 Kos in world title fights. He’s also beaten the likes of Jason Moloney, Juan Carlos Payano, Ryoichi Taguchi, Kohei Kono, Antonio Nieves, David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez. He’s also 8-0 with 6 Kos against current or former world champions in Donaire, Rodriguez, Taguchi, Hernandez, Narvaez, Kono, McDonnell and Payano.
The 39-year-old ‘Filipino Flash’ Donaire bounced back with wins over Ryan Burnett in 2018 for the WBA belt and Stephon Young in 2019 in the World Boxing Super Series after dropping a unanimous decision to Carl Frampton in a shot at the vacant interim WBO Featherweight crown in April, 2018. He then lost that title to Inoue in 2019.
He bounced back with a magnificent performance against Nordine Oubaali and dropped him three times before the fight was stopped in the fourth round to win the WBC Bantamweight Belt. His record now stands at 42-6 with 28 Kos. Donaire’s a former amateur star who moved to America as a youngster and is 17-5 with 11 Kos in world title fights. He’s also a four-division World Champion as he’s held titles in the flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Donaire has also captured numerous regional and minor titles since turning pro in 2001 and has boxed 297 rounds since then with a current knockout ratio of 58.3 per cent. His biggest wins have been over Gaballo, Oubaali, Burnett, Vic Darchinyan (twice), Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka, and Jorge Arce.
His losses have come at the hands of Inoue, Frampton, Jessie Magdaleno in 2016, Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013, Nicholas Walters in 2014 and Rosendo Sanchez in his second pro bout in 2001. The only man to stop him was Walters in the sixth round, but Donaire’s proven over the years to have a solid chin. He’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach which gives him a two-inch edge in height sand a one-inch edge in reach on Inoue.
Prediction…
The future hall of famer Donaire has looked sensational in his two fights since losing to Inoue as his power was decisive and his last four wins have all come by stoppage. Inoue knows all about that power as he had his orbital bone broken in the first fight with Donaire. Inoue healed well and has won three fights by stoppage since then, but not really against elite opposition. Both boxers and the fans know what to expect in this rematch but Donaire should certainly have a lot more confidence this time around. This should be another exciting fight with some momentum swings and each boxer having some great moments. However, I feel at 10 years younger and with his tremendous ability to take and dish out punishment both to the head and body, Inoue will once again emerge victorious.
