4 Best Opponents for Naoya Inoue After Win vs. Stephen Fulton
If you already knew, you're good.
And if you didn't know, now you know.
Naoya Inoue has been one of the world's best fighters from the instant he stepped into his first professional ring and he did nothing to change that career arc on Tuesday morning, defeating Stephen Fulton by eighth-round TKO in a two-belt super bantamweight title match in Japan.
The win was No. 25 in a row for the unbeaten "Monster," who had been a champion at 108 (one belt), 115 (one belt) and 118 pounds (four belts) before climbing yet again to wrest the WBC's and WBO's 122-pound straps from Fulton, who'd arrived without a loss in 21 fights.
Inoue's exploits haven't been lost on the hardcore boxing set—he was ranked second on both B/R's and The Ring's most recent pound-for-pound lists—but it may have been an unveiling to casual fans tuning in on ESPN+ who were perhaps not as familiar with the fight scene in Japan, where Inoue has had all but three of his pro bouts.
Regardless, the guy's good. And he will be for a while.
Those facts sent the B/R combat team back to its crystal ball to forecast the path he might follow now that he's already become the second Japan-born fighter to win titles at four weights and gotten 75 percent of the way to becoming the first fighter of any origin to earn undisputed status at two weights in the four-belt era.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.
Marlon Tapales
1 of 4
If the goal is clear, the target is as well.
Inoue is on record saying he wants to become the first fighter to win four belts in each of two weight classes, and Fulton entered their fight with two of the recognized 122-pound claims.
So that leaves two more and a date with Marlon Tapales to get them.
For those unaware, Tapales is a 31-year-old Filipino southpaw who'd been a pro for nearly 15 years before wresting the IBF and WBA belts at 122 pounds from previously unbeaten champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev by a bizarre split decision in April.
He was an eight-point loser on one scorecard, but a two-point winner on two others. He was also granted permission by the WBA in June to pursue a bout with the Inoue-Fulton winner, a match the organization labeled as powerful "for the sake of boxing."
Tapales would give away an inch in height and more than two in reach to Inoue, though he's fought as heavy as 132 pounds as a pro for a KO defeat of Eden Sonsona in 2020 and has competed seven times as a super bantamweight (6-1, 3 KOs) to just once for Inoue.
"Everybody wants to fight him, including me," Tapales said. "I'm a champion now so I feel I've got a ticket to fight him too, so I can prove that I can be pound-for-pound like him."
Luis Nery
2 of 4
Not too long ago, Luis Nery was on a high-end career track.
The 28-year-old captured the WBC bantamweight title in 2017 with a fourth-round KO of Shinsuke Yamanaka, who was unbeaten in 29 fights and making his 13th title defense.
An immediate rematch was ordered when it was announced that Nery had failed a pre-fight drug test, but the result didn't change much—with the Mexican winning in two rounds, though he forfeited the title by missing the contracted weight by three pounds.
Nery was banned for life by the Japan Boxing Commission for the two missteps against Yamanaka and has fought in three classes across 10 fights since, including a brief run at 122 pounds with the WBC belt that Inoue took from Fulton.
So, given his dual status as a rule-breaking heel in Japan and a former occupant of the throne on which the country's biggest boxing star now sits, it seems only natural that promoters would at least consider the idea of a neutral-site grudge match.
And as for Nery, you don't even have to ask.
"(Inoue's) not a monster," he said. "He's a little monster. I'm the real monster of 122.
"I want to take his mask off."
Leigh Wood
3 of 4
Mike Tyson won a lot of fights before he ever got to the ring. Many of his opponents, particularly in his early years, were so intimidated by his aura outside the ropes and his violence inside that they were competitively frozen by the opening bell.
Even though he's 100 pounds lighter, Inoue has the same menacing effect.
But it may not work on everybody.
Assuming he goes about his stated business at 122 pounds and deems the mission accomplished, the sport's "what have you done for me lately" eyes will turn toward possible options for him if he climbs yet another rung up the ladder to featherweight.
The reigning WBA champion in the weight class is a fighter—Leigh Wood—with whom Inoue shared the ring with while sparring to prepare for a 2018 match with Jamie McDonnell.
And let's just say that the British-based champion, now 27-3 since turning pro in 2011, made an impact on his Japanese training partner. So, if Inoue wants to test himself against a guy for whom he's already developed some in-ring respect, it would be a natural match to make.
"(Wood) had tremendous punching power," Inoue told The Ring.
"(He) is a natural featherweight, and his weight was probably much higher than the featherweight limit when I sparred with him. He was big and probably because of that, I really felt his power and strength."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Robeisy Ramirez
4 of 4
Go ahead and file this in the "Big Events Down the Road" folder.
Robeisy Ramirez was a decorated amateur in Cuba, winning a pair of Olympic golds and defeating a laundry list of future pros, including new pound-for-pound ace Shakur Stevenson.
His own professional timeline was thrown off by a loss in his 2019 debut, but he's since avenged the defeat and strung together double-digit wins and captured a title belt.
He defended that title, the WBO's at featherweight, on the Inoue-Fulton undercard, which allowed him to both hear the words "And still" for the first time and to continue to stoke the fires for what could be the best possible test for Inoue at 126.
Ramirez's 5'5" frame and 68-inch reach are nearly identical to Inoue's, and the contrast between Inoue's aggressive marauding style and Ramirez's subtlety and trickiness makes for a fascinating dream fight that may not have to be for too much longer.
Ramirez is promoted by Top Rank. Inoue is co-promoted by Top Rank. Which means we're never more than one well-timed Bob Arum phone call from making it official.
"I was thinking about future 122- and 126-pound opponents for Inoue," Randy Gordon, former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, told Bleacher Report.
"And no doubt, Ramirez is at or near the top. It would probably be a terrific fight."
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
