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Promoter Bob Arum says Naoya Inoue will likely be again preventing within the spring in Las Vegas following his fourth-round blowout of little-known Ye Joon Kim on Friday evening on the Ariake Area in Tokyo, Japan.
IBF, WBC, and WBO tremendous bantamweight champion Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) dropped the hapless Kim (21-3-2, 13 KOs) within the fourth spherical with a proper hand. He was then counted out at 2:25 by referee Mark Nelson.
The battle had zero sporting worth, as Inoue hit Kim at will for your entire 4 rounds. It was unbelievable that Crew Inoue chosen Kim because the substitute opponent. A greater opponent ought to have been picked than this man, however we don’t know if the overall thought was to make sure Inoue seemed nice. Assuming that’s the aim, Kim was best.
“Another great performance by our champion here,” stated Bob Arum. “I observed that the great country of Japan has given {Shohei} Ohtani to Los Angeles. And at least for one fight, the great country of Japan will give the great Inoue to the city of Las Vegas this spring.”
Arum isn’t saying who Inoue, 31, might be preventing, however for many U.S. followers, it’s received to somebody’s precise expertise as a result of he’s feasting on lesser opposition. If Inoue goes to battle in Vegas or Los Angeles, he must battle high quality fighters. American followers are much less tolerant of the tender opposition that Inoue has been preventing than his loyal followers from Japan.
Appropriate Choices for Inoue In U.S Struggle
– Gervonta Davis– Rafael Espinoza– Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez– Emanuel Navarrete– Vasily Lomachenko– Angelo Leo– Rey Vargas– Andy Cruz– Shakur Stevenson– Keyshawn Davis
Aside from these fighters, there’s nobody else that’s interesting for Inoue to be preventing if he’s competing in Las Vegas within the spring. Trotting out Sam Goodman as Naoya’s opponent gained’t work for American followers.
They wish to see high quality, and on the minimal, they need Inoue to be in 50-50 fights. So far, Inoue has been an enormous favourite in all of his fights, and that’s not attention-grabbing for U.S. followers for any sport. There’s a superb opportunity that Inoue would lose to eight of the ten opponents from my listing above, however at the least he could be preventing A-level opposition for as soon as. That’s what People wish to see as a substitute of the lower-level fighters he’s been dealing with.
Followers wish to see Naoya take some dangers for as soon as by preventing the likes of Gervonta Davis, Rafael Espinoza, or Emanuel Navarrete. In different phrases, fighters the place Inoue could be the underdog for the primary in his profession as a substitute of an amazing favourite, as we noticed in his battle towards Ye Joon Kim.
This fighter had been introduced in to interchange Naoya’s initially scheduled opponent, Sam Goodman, a lighter puncher who had overwhelmed no certainly one of word to earn the obligatory spot. He would have been overmatched towards Inoue just like the obscure fighter Kim.
Curiously, Kim had misplaced to journeyman Rob Diezel (14-9) in 2023. Why was Kim even used as an opponent for Inoue after that defeat? The promoters for Naoya may as properly have used Diezel as his opponent. What’s the distinction?
