I’ve worked with Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather – but no one is better than ‘The Monster’
Bob Arum says he's constantly blown away when he watches Naoya Inoue.
The undisputed bantamweight champion recently survived the first knockdown of his career to score a knockout win against Luis Nery in six rounds and defend his belts at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
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In the aftermath of the 27th win of his perfect professional boxing career, in a venue that saw perhaps boxing's most shocking loss when Mike Tyson was beaten by Buster Douglas, Inoue earned the highest praise from Arum, who has been his co-promoter since 2019.
“He is not only pound-for-pound the best in the world, Inoue is the best fighter I have ever seen, no matter the what weight category,” the 92-year-old Hall of Fame promoter told .
“In over 60 years in boxing, I have never seen anything like Inoue," he said of the 31-year-old with 24 KO wins in his 27 fights.
"He’s a terrific young man. It’s scary with what I am seeing. He overwhelms really good opponents.
READ MORE ON NAOYA INOUE
"I’ve never seen a fighter of that size perform the way he has. Maybe [Mexico's former featherweight champion] Salvador Sanchez had that ability. Even then, Sanchez did not win nearly all his fights by knockout.
“Inoue goes in, boxes, and knocks these guys out. What we’re seeing in Inoue is something that is really special.
“There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He’s as special to boxing to what [Japanese star] Shohei Ohtani is to baseball. We’re honoured to be playing a part in his career.”
A lot of boxing fans will agree Inoue is the best fighter on the planet today.
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Inoue is a pound-for-pound superstar who has yet to be beaten in his professional career, and has held world titles in four weight classes.
Several fighters have tried and failed to dethrone the Japanese star, with his next task set to be against Australian Sam Goodman on away soil later in 2024.
Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum reveals the failed world champion who could've been as good as Sugar Ray Leonard
There could be more huge fights on the horizon, with an appearance at London's Wembley Stadium also teased as he eyes global stardom.
However, many will be surprised to hear Arum rank him so highly considering the calibre of people he has worked with since getting into the sport during the 1960s.
From Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, Arum has promoted some of the best boxers of all time.
Ali is often called ‘The Greatest’, Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion ever, Mayweather retired with a perfect 50-record and Pacquiao won world titles in eight different weight classes.
While people often praise legendary fighters, Arum clearly believes that the current crop of boxing superstars are capable of being better than their predecessors.
What Is An Undisputed World Champion?
In boxing, an undisputed world champion is someone who wins all of the four major world title belts in their division - WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.
Fury currently has the WBC while Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO. Therefore, the winner will hold all four belts as undisputed king.
The last man to hold all the belts in the division was Lennox Lewis when he beat Evander Holyfield to add his WBA and IBF titles to the WBC belt before what is now known as the 'four-belt era' with the WBO being recognised from 2004.
Before branding Inoue as the best fighter he’s seen, Arum gave similar praise to current world champions Tyson Fury, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Shakur Stevenson.
‘The Monster’ is due to travel abroad and could be on the same card as Anthony Joshua for his next fight, so he can become a bigger star than ever before.
Arum’s comment may have come prematurely but Inoue is certainly one of the best fighters in boxing and could become the greatest of all time if he takes things to the next level over the next few years.
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