In 2023, Naoya Inoue made a significant statement with impressive victories over the then-undefeated Stephen Fulton and a resilient Marlon Tapales. These triumphs in the same year crowned him the undisputed boxing champion in the super bantamweight division.
The Japanese boxing icon, boasts an impressive 88.4 percent knockout ratio. Naoya, recognized as a champion in four different weight classes, has even received praise from Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson, who are legends in the boxing game.
Naoya Inoue wins Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year Award
The Ring Magazine, unofficially called the bible of boxing, recently announced undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue as the 2023 Fighter of the Year. ESPN had already announced Inoue as the Fighter of the Year in their annual awards. The decision by ESPN and Ring Magazine were both justified as Inoue had a spectacular 2023 in professional boxing.
Inou started 2023 by vacating all four of his belts in the bantamweight division to contest for titles in the super bantamweight division. He finished 2023 with KO victories over Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to claim all four belts to become an undisputed world champion in a second weight class.
A celebration to remember @NaoyaInoue_410. @BudLight | #TRFanAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/XcumMpZe6F
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 5, 2024
With titles in four different weight classes, Inoue showcased adaptability to excel. His knockout victory against the then-undefeated unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton Jr. silenced any doubts about whether his power could translate across higher weight classes.
Inoue concluded the year with yet another knockout victory, this time against the Filipino slugger Marlon Tapales. Although Tapales, who upset Murodjon Akhmadaliev to become the unified champion, may not have been as well-known as Fulton, he displayed toughness and grit in the bout with Inoue, even managing to rock the Japanese monster.
Naoya Inoue beats Terence Crawford in pound-for-pound rankings
The super bantamweight undisputed boxing champion Naoya Inoue overtook former undisputed champion Terence Crawford in the pound-for-pound ranking of CBS Sports and Independent. However, The Ring magazine, Boxing Writers Association of America, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ESPN, and BoxRec have Crawford at number one with Inoue as a close second.
Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Naoya Inoue passes Terence Crawford for No. 1 spot to close 2023 – CBS Sports
— Movie Streaming Sites for Free at Home (@freemoviesite4u) December 30, 2023
Crawford fought only once in 2023 and began the year as the WBO welterweight champion. Crawford, who won the title in 2018 from Jeff Horn, has only fought once in 2020, 2021, and 2022. However, Crawford, the former undisputed light welterweight champion became the undisputed champion at welterweight with a KO victory over unified champion Errol Spence Jr.
Inoue’s rise to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings of CBS Sports and Independent was due to his dominant display in boxing against two tough competitors. Crawford fell to number 2 only due to him fighting only once. However, Crawford himself has tweeted that his one fight was one of the biggest fights in boxing history.
In addition to Inoue and Crawford, other fighters in the pound-for-pound rankings are Canelo Alvarez, Oleksandr Usyk, Devin Haney, Dmitry Bivol, Gervonta Davis, Tyson Fury, and Shakur Stevenson. All the aforementioned boxers had notable victories in 2023 but it was Crawford and Inoue that stood out from the pack.
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