Donnie Nietes' return to the boxing ring after 27 months ended with a unanimous-decision win over Pablo Carrillo on Sunday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the vacant WBO international super flyweight title.
The three judges awarded the 10-round fight to Nietes by 99-91, 98-92 and 96-95 scores.
Per CompuBox (h/t Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene), Nietes landed 97 of 425 punches (23 percent), and Carrillo connected on 81 of 415 total punches (19 percent).
Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook gave his take in a recap of the fight:
"The 38-year-old Nietes seemed to warm to the fight in the latter stages, looking sharp and sound still in the final four rounds, while Colombia’s Carrillo (25-8-1, 16 KO) never found quite enough success, though he did have some, landing solid shots here and there."
The fight served as the lead-in for the WBO junior lightweight title matchup between champion Jamel Herring and challenger Carl Frampton.
Nietes, a four-weight world champion, is now 43-1 with five draws. He has gone undefeated in his last 36 matches, with his lone professional defeat occurring in September 2004.
He's also seventh on BoxRec's super flyweight rankings.
As for what's next, Nietes told Ryan Songalia of Ring Magazine before the fight that he has his sights set on super flyweights Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez and Wisaksil Wangek, who are currently No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 in BoxRec's division rankings.
Carrillo fell to 25-8-1. He had won nine of his last 12 fights leading into the Nietes match.
You could forgive Donnie Nietes fans if they thought their favorite fighter's career were over.
The popular four-division world champion last fought in December 2018, earning a split-decision win over Kazuto Ioka. There have been few rumblings suggesting a return to the ring since then, but Ahas is back on a big stage. Nietes (42-1-5, 23 KOs) will take on Pablo Carrillo (25-7-1, 16 KOs) on Saturday on the undercard of the Carl Frampton-Jamel Herring championship bout in Dubai.
The vacant WBO international junior-bantamweight title is on the line in this scheduled 10-round bout. Nietes will be out to prove he can still put on a show at the age of 38 and despite a 27-month gap between appearances.
Carrillo, a veteran fighter out of Colombia, is taking the bout on relatively short notice. He was announced as a replacement for unbeaten prospect Orlando Penalba in mid-March. If he can pull off the upset, it will be the highlight of his career.
Nietes vs. Carrillo Fight Info
When: Saturday, Apr. 3 at 4 p.m. ET (main card)
Where: Caesars Palace Dubai in Dubai
TV: Channel 5 (UK)
Live stream: ESPN+ (US), IFL TV Youtube Channel (UK)
Odds: Nietes 1-8, Carrillo 11-2 (via Oddschecker, correct as of Thursday 7 a.m. ET)
Changing an opponent on such short notice can throw a wrench in some fighters' plans, but Nietes doesn't appear to be bothered by the switch from Penalba to Carrillo.
"This will be a better fight because it's for a belt,” Nietes said, per the SunStar Cebu. "I won't make any adjustments in my training. I'll continue to do what I'm doing. I'll make my adjustment on top of the ring. That's what I usually do in fights."
For an aging fighter returning from his longest spell between fights, a journeyman with seven losses seems much safer than an undefeated 27-year-old looking to make a name for himself. Nietes' last bout was against a one-loss fighter in Ioka, and some felt the decision could have gone the other way. Carrillo is a classic tune-up opponent, and Nietes will be looking build confidence and erase concerns about his age and diminishing skill set.
There's not much working in Carrillo's favor in this one. Not only is he taking the fight on late notice, but he's also had a fairly long spell away from the ring himself. Carrillo last fought in August 2019, beating Luis Golindano by fifth-round stoppage. Nietes, even in the late stage of his career, represents a huge jump in pedigree for Carrillo. He's gonna need to bring his best stuff to Dubai if he wants to have a chance in this one.
If Nietes, a heavy favorite, beats Carrillo handily, he could be put on a fast-track to world title contention. He has just one loss on his record and is the longest-reigning Filipino world champion ever.
The junior-bantamweight division doesn't have a ton of big names, and Nietes would make an attractive opponent for titleholders. He even told the SunStar Cebu that he would "love a rematch" with Ioka, who holds the WBO world title at 115 pounds. If all goes well Saturday, don't expect Nietes to have to wait another two years to get back into the ring.
Joshua Franco retained the WBA super flyweight championship after a controversial no-decision against Andrew Moloney.
Franco was stopped after two rounds when his right eye was swollen shut, but the officials ruled the injury was due to an accidental headbutt.
After over 25 minutes of replay review—which showed no apparent clash of heads—judges kept their initial call of an accidental headbutt, per Lance Pugmire of The Athletic.
Referee Robert Byrd said he saw two headbutts during the match:
"This is an absolute disgrace," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said afterward. "There was no headbutt. Moloney should be the champion."
Moloney spoke about the decision after the match:
Arum had a heated exchange with Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett after the announcement and the two had to be separated, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Former world champion Timothy Bradley Jr. explained it was a legal jab in the second round that caused the swelling:
Most watching along also sided with Moloney:
Moloney was seeking to avenge his June loss to Franco by unanimous decision, the first loss in the Australian's career.
He will hope he showed enough in the first two rounds Saturday to earn another shot to regain his title.
Boxing fans will be seeing double in this week's lineup of Top Rank fight cards. Andrew Moloney is set to defend his WBA world super flyweight title against Joshua Franco on Tuesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Two nights later, his twin brother, Jason Moloney, will take on Leonardo Baez in a 10-round bantamweight match, also at the MGM Grand.
Top Rank's summer series doesn't have an audience for the matches as the promoter navigates the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. While they've been critical to the sport's return, they haven't been entirely successful. A handful of fights have been scrapped because of COVID-19 infections, the most notable being Mikkel LesPierre missing a headlining bout against Jose Pedraza on June 18 because his manager contracted the disease, per ESPN.com's Steve Kim.
Despite the setbacks, Top Rank is moving forward with the action. Tuesday's televised card will feature five fights, ending with the Moloney-Franco scrap. You can catch it live on ESPN or streaming on ESPN+, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Fight Card
Andrew Moloney (21-0, 14 KOs) vs. Joshua Franco (16-1-2, 8 KOs): Super Flyweight, 12 rounds
Christopher Diaz (25-2, 16 KOs) vs. Jason Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs): Featherweight, 10 rounds
Joseph Adorno (14-0-1, 12 KOs) vs. Alexis del Bosque (17-5, 9 KOs): Lightweight, 8 rounds
Miguel Contreras (10-0, 6 KOs) vs. Rolando Vargas (5-0, 5 KOs): Junior Welterweight, 6 rounds
Helaman Olguin (7-3, 3 KOs) vs. Adam Stewart (8-0-1, 5 KOs): Heavyweight, 6 rounds
Full card info on TopRank.com
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Moloney -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100), Franco +625 (bet $100 to win $625)
Main Event Preview
The Moloney-Franco tilt is billed as a world title fight, but there's a caveat to that. Moloney holds the WBA "world" super flyweight title, but the real king of the WBA at 115 pounds is Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, who holds the "super world' championship.
This isn't to say the fight won't be interesting. Moloney, a 29-year-old from Australia, has a belt and an undefeated record to protect. This is his first fight in seven months after he got into a difficult war with Elton Dharry that ended in a TKO in the ninth round. As Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ noted, Moloney was lucky to get out of a difficult fifth round, where the referee should have scored a knockdown against him.
Franco is coming off a stoppage win over Jose Alejandro in January. Prior to that, he fought three times against Oscar Negrete, drawing twice and winning once. The 24-year-old from San Antonio is a tough fighter who won't back down from a challenge.
Moloney has done his homework on the challenger, per the Sydney Morning Herald's Phil Lutton:
"He's a good fighter. I'm a big boxing fan. I keep a very close eye on all the guys in my division. I've seen him fight quite a few times and have watched a lot of footage. He puts his combinations together well, he comes to fight and win. It's his first shot at a world title. But I believe I'm a little bit better than him in every aspect."
If Moloney can make it through this fight, which is his U.S. debut, it's possible he can score a match against Chocolatito, who may have lost a step in recent years but is considered one of the most skilled boxers around.
A trio of super flyweight title fights are on the table Saturday night in Los Angeles, as HBO is set to broadcast what promises to be an action-packed Superfly 3 card.
One of those fights is sure to draw eyeballs on both sides of the Pacific, as Donnie Nietes takes on Aston Palicte in an all-Filipino matchup for the vacant WBO world super flyweight title.
Though Manny Pacquiao dwarfs him (and most other boxers) on a global-recognition scale, Nietes has been one of the top Filipino boxers to follow for several years.
He's a three-time world champion, the longest-reigning Filipino world champion (at flyweight) and hasn't lost a fight in 14 years. Now, he's moved up to super flyweight to try to extend his dominance to a fourth division.
Palicte is trying to establish himself as a great fighter and carve out his own storied career. A win over Nietes would give him a significant boost.
There are two other matches on HBO's Superfly 3 card. Juan Francisco Estrada will look to bounce back from a loss when he takes on Felipe Orucuta, and Kazuto Ioka will duke it out against McWilliams Arroyo for the WBC Silver super flyweight belt.
Here's how to watch.
Nietes vs. Palicte Fight Info
When: Saturday, Sept. 8 at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT
Where: The Forum in Inglewood, California
TV: HBO
Live Stream: HBO GO (provided after fight has broadcast)
Nietes is thinking about his legacy as he embarks on the challenge of moving up to super flyweight. He's hoping it will put him in the conversation with other recent Filipino greats, per BoxingScene.com:
"This fight represents a lot to me as I will seeking my fourth world championship in a fourth different weight division. Winning the world title will put me at the level of Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire and will add worldwide recognition to my career."
Pacquiao has famously won titles in eight divisions, and Donaire is a handsome, powerful fighter who has won world titles in four weight classes and was named Boxer of the Year in 2012 by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Nietes wants to cement his status among those all-time greats.
As the "Snake" ventures from beyond the comfort of the flyweight division, where he held the WBO world title for over a decade, he's also continuing a trend of shirking the comfort of his native Philippines. Saturday's fight at The Forum will be Nietes' fourth fight in the U.S. in his last six bouts. Prior to this, Nietes had fought almost exclusively in the Philippines, save for a handful of trips to Mexico and Thailand.
It's a chance for 36-year-old Nietes to expand his audience and maybe cash in before age saps away his talent. He won his last fight at The Forum in style, knocking out Juan Carlos Reveco in the seventh round on the Superfly 2 card.
Here's the highlight, per HBO Boxing:
Reveco is no slouch, but he was also no match for Nietes, whose skills don't appear to have diminished after 15 years of professional action.
Palicte, 27, will hope to end Nietes' long run of dominance. He's nine years younger than Nietes and has advantages in both the height (5'7" to 5'3") and reach (68" to 65.5") departments, per BoxRec.
Palicte boasts 20 knockout wins in 24 fights, including three stoppages in his last four.
Though he's much younger than Nietes, he has plenty of experience in his own right, per Rappler.com's Ryan Songalia:
Perhaps it's not just the brash confidence of a young, hungry fighter that makes Palicte think he can not only beat Nietes, but end his night early.
"I believe I can knock Nietes out and make a name for myself with this win. If not, I will get a decision," he said, per PanayNews.net's Adrian Stewart. "This is a fantastic fight for all Filipino boxing fans and we will continue the great tradition of Filipino boxing into the ring."
As Songalia noted for RingTV.com, one of Palicte's weaknesses is stamina:
"Aston had established himself as a fighter to watch with his big KO power, but his inconsistencies in conditioning and technique had placed a question mark over his potential. His first defeat, a fourth-round technical knockout in 2012 against Romnick Magos, came about after Palicte scored an early knockdown before his stamina failed and he was dropped twice. A 2016 split decision loss to Junior Granados may have been a case of a foreigner getting the short end in Mexico but highlighted how his power dipped off after the middle rounds."
While he's worked to rectify this, it's something the crafty Nietes can take advantage of. Nietes is no stranger to adventures in the later rounds, proving he can pull out the decision time and time again.
If he can manage to keep Palicte from landing the big punch, and age hasn't started stripping off his gifts since the Reveco fight, he should come away with a points decision.
Khalid "Kal" Yafai may only be 5'4" tall, but his lack of height doesn't stop him from having lofty ambitions.
The super flyweight—the eldest of three boxing brothers from Birmingham, England—has needed to practice patience in the pros. Injuries, coupled with a dearth of willing opponents, have stunted his progress.
However, on December 10, the 27-year-old finally gets the chance he's been waiting for.
After 20 straight wins, 14 of them coming inside the distance, Yafai's next outing will be for a world title when he challenges WBA champion Luis Concepcion at the Manchester Arena.
British boxing doesn't have a huge tradition (pun intended) of small men making waves in the lighter divisions.
That doesn't mean Yafai has gone unnoticed since turning pro in 2012, but he's perhaps not received the kind of attention someone with his talent deserves. Fast and full of power, he has already claimed the British and Commonwealth belts.
The problem isn't with Yafai—it's in the lack of well-known names he's come up against to date.
He's often appeared on shows with another former member of Great Britain's amateur squad with an unbeaten record in the paid ranks: Anthony Joshua.
The little-and-large act are back together on the same bill in December. Heavyweight Joshua has his hands on a world title already—he will defend the IBF crown in the main event. Yafai, however, could end up stealing the show.
Concepcion will be a tough nut to crack. The champion from Panama dethroned Japan's Kohei Kono on points in his opponent's backyard in August. He also went the distance with Carlos Cuadras in Mexico in 2015, so he's unlikely to be worried about fighting on the road.
Yet for Yafai, it is time to swim in the deep end of the division.
"It's been difficult finding a match for Yafai, but he wants to get in the mix with the best now. Now it's time to find out if he is the real deal," his promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports (h/t Matt Horan of SkySports.com).
Had circumstances worked out differently, Yafai may have already fought for a major belt.
After a fast start—his first 10 fights spanned less than 18 months—injuries held up Yafai's progress. A torn bicep sidelined him for a lengthy period, while brittle hands that bothered him back in his amateur days have also caused problems.
In truth, he's had more setbacks out of the ring than he has had in it. Everth Briceno and Jason Cunningham managed to last 12 rounds against him, but both were comprehensively beaten and ended up on the wrong end of landslide decisions.
Since going the distance with Cunningham in October 2015, Yafai has blown away three opponents in a hurry.
Unlike Dixon Flores and Jozsef Ajtai, Johnson Tellez managed to make it out of Round 1 against Yafai last Saturday, lasting until the third before the rather inevitable stoppage arrived at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham.
It wasn't quite the night Yafai had hoped for on home turf. The initial plan had been to fight IBF holder McJoe Arroyo, only the champion lost his title to Jerwin Ancajas last month instead.
At least Yafai came through the Tellez bout with a clean bill of health. His opponent's use of the head in Round 1 was his biggest concern in a one-sided contest—now is the not time for another injury to hold him back.
A left hook to the body ended the bout. It is a trademark punch for Yafai, one he also used to dismantle the overmatched Flores back in March (fast forward to four minutes in to see the stoppage in the video below):
The same shot secured the Commonwealth strap a year earlier, with poor Yaqub Kareem on the receiving end on that occasion:
Yafai is a brutal body puncher. His desire to load up with power punches occasionally leaves him open for a counter, and that could be an issue when he steps in with a better standard of opposition.
But there is no disguising the fact the Brummie can bang. He has a 70 per cent knockout ratio and has registered nine of his pro victories inside two rounds.
Concepcion is unlikely to crumble quickly, although he has been stopped twice before in his career. Hernan Marquez floored him three times at flyweight and then the same number of times again in their rematch.
Yafai—who competed at the 2008 Olympics but missed out on qualifying for the 2012 Games in London—has nothing to fear. In fact, fighting for a world title might well inspire him to produce something special.
"I think a tough fight will bring the best out of me," he told Mike Lockley of the Birmingham Mail. "In my past fights, if I didn’t get them out, I tended to go through the motions."
The talent has been obvious for years—now Yafai finally has a stage to prove he belongs at the top table.
In a division that boasts big names such as Roman Gonzalez—who The Ring magazine ranks as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—and Naoya Inoue, British boxing should embrace a diminutive star of its own.
There isn't a fighter alive who is more exciting than Luis Concepcion.
After being briefly linked to a matchup with flyweight kingpin Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez by BoxingScene.com, Concepcion challenges the undefeated Carlos Cuadras on Saturday for the WBC recognized super flyweight title in Metepec, Mexico. The fight airs live on Televisa.
A former flyweight world champion with a penchant for melee action (and backflips off the corner posts), Concepcion (32-3, 23 KO) is unbeaten since 2012, fluctuating between flyweight and junior bantamweight. Cuadras (31-0, 25 KO), the No. 2- and No. 3-rated 115-pound boxer in the world by The Ring and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, respectively, is the reasonable favorite going into this weekend's affair.
But Concepcion, nicknamed "El Nica," is a fighter with the kind of blistering style that converts the boxing ring into a storm of swirling violence and mayhem where logic and reason have no place.
At first glance, Concepcion is all kinds of an anomaly. Just 5'2", the Panamanian is stout and burly. He can be likened to a sawed-off Hercules (as Barbados Joe Walcott was once described as). His "blowout" hairstyle and glistening bronze complexion draw more resemblance to the mythical "guido" of Jersey Shore lore than that of an esteemed combatant.
Nevertheless, his chilling hitting prowess can bring fighters, nay champions, of all shapes and sizes to their knees. He flattened former minimumweight titlist Roberto Carlos Leyva, stopped one-time 108-pound belt holder Eric Ortiz and handed flyweight champion Denkaosan Kaovichit just his second KO defeat in 53 fights—each in less than four rounds.
And baddest of them all was Manuel "Chango" Vargas, whom Concepcion sparked with a right hand that left Chango stiffened like a corpse in just 76 seconds.
The highly touted Hernan "Tyson" Marquez, too, got a taste of that patented right hand in Round 1 of their first bout, which sent him reeling in the opener of what was a war for the ages.
Their rematch in 2011, however, saw Concepcion get demoralized by a first-round knockout.
Resilient, El Nica hasn't lost since, and per Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com, he is fully prepared for the hometown Cuadras:
Mexico is a country of great champions and the people are very friendly. Unfortunately, they will be left without a champion. Carlos Cuadras is no match for my power and will eventually fall to my feet.
I'm ready for everything he has to offer in order to once again become world champion. Although, I want to make it clear that this Saturday I will knock him out.
Naturally, the defending champion isn't convinced.
"Concepcion thinks he can come here and disrespect me in my house," Cuadras said in a separate report by Donovan. "He will return home empty-handed."
While unbeaten in his career, Cuadras' time as champion hasn't been overly impressive.
He lifted the WBC super flyweight title from Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in May of last year. He fully outboxed the dangerous Thai early, successfully potshotting through the first couple of rounds and really laying combinations into him through the middle of the fight before Rungvisai rallied back to steal the last few rounds—looking apt to pull off the comeback. Alas, the fight came to an abrupt end after a clash of heads in the eighth round.
The same thing forced a technical draw in Cuadras' very next fight against Jose Salgado.
The Mexican champion finally retained his belt by way of his own hands with a six-round drubbing of Marvin Mabait four months ago.
Cuadras, 26, is younger and taller and will be the more calculated fighter Saturday against the 29-year-old Concepcion.
But while Cuadras' 25 KOs attest to a respectable punch, he—like most in the world—pales in comparison to the murderous power tucked away in Concepcion's mitts. Every one of El Nica's opponents have touched the canvas during his nine-fight winning streak that includes five savage KOs—none more haunting than the dizzying left hook that lit up Carlos Ruiz in late 2013.
Concepcion may just be a whisker over 5'0", but as Dante once wrote, "From a tiny spark, may burst a mighty flame."
Paul Butler will look to achieve a rare boxing feat when he takes on reigning IBF super-flyweight world champion Zolani Tete at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on Friday night.
The Baby Faced Assassin (17-0, 8 KOs) is bidding to become the first Brit since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1903 to step down a weight and win a world title, per the Mirror's David Anderson.
Butler claimed the IBF belt at bantamweight last year, when he defeated Stuart Hall in Newcastle in just his 16th professional fight, though he has since relinquished it.
Having moved back down in a bid to become a two-weight world champion, the Chester-born boxer has had to be patient for his chance to take on Tete (19-3, 16 KOs). The pair were meant to meet last October, but Tete—who beat Teiru Kinoshita on points to claim the vacant IBF strap—was forced to withdraw due to a hand injury.
When: Friday, March 6 at 10 p.m. GMT
Where: Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
TV: BoxNation
Live Stream: BoxNation (subscription required and region restricted)
Tough Talk
Now fit and ready for action, Tete was hardly a shrinking violet at the pre-fight press conference in Liverpool.
The South African promised to not only add to his impressive tally of knockouts but also leave Butler with a lifelong reminder of the time they fought, per the Liverpool Echo:
I'm going to break his nose, I'm going to knock him out. I'm not the champion because I bought the title, I fought for it and I fought hard for it - and that's what's going to happen on Friday.
I take nothing away from Paul, he's a good champion but we're not at the same level.
Tete's record certainly suggests he packs a punch—11 of his bouts have failed to even make it out of the first round.
However, his last two fights suggest he is not only built to go the distance but also comfortable competing in enemy territory. He climbed off the canvas to win an action-packed final eliminator against Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. in Baja, California, knocking the Mexican out in the 10th round before going on to beat Kinoshita in Kobe, Japan.
Victories, particularly hard-earned ones, can only breed confidence. Judging by his pre-fight promise, Tete now has plenty of it.
Home Comforts
Butler will have the vast majority of the crowd firmly behind him at the Echo Arena.
He hopes his supporters can play a crucial role in his bid to dethrone the current champion, per the Chester Chronicle:
I know he’s travelled around the world but I don’t think he’ll ever have experienced something like Liverpool on Friday night. It’s going to be a very hostile atmosphere.
There’s going be 7,000 or 8,000 all cheering for me and I’ll be in the ring first.
The 26-year-old hasn't needed a lot of help from others so far in his career. He has won the British and Commonwealth belts at super-flyweight, as well as the IBF title at bantamweight.
With Tete not available for the original date, Butler took the chance to hone his skills with a landslide points victory in a 10-rounder against Mexican Ismael Garnica.
Prediction
If Butler and Tete back up their words with their actions, it should be a terrific spectacle in Liverpool.
The champion stands at 5'9" and will have a height and reach advantage, though Butler managed to overcome the same issues when he faced Hall, who stands at 5'8".
His plan, according to Steve Lillis of BoxNation, is to use "educated pressure" to upset the rhythm of the visitor.
Whatever tactic Butler has used so far in his career has paid off. It is hard not to see him stretch his perfect record and come out on top on home turf.
It will take a few rounds to work Tete out, but expect Butler to win, most likely on points.
Vote early and vote often, as the adage goes.
Most sports media outlets, however, might actually be taking that to heart.
As highly publicized names like Terence Crawford and Sergey Kovalev have their names engraved onto 2014 Fighter of the Year trophies before the year has even come to a close, a boxing prodigy from the opposite side of the globe, Naoya Inoue, prepares to prove himself a strong candidate next week in Japan.
On December 30, "Monster" Inoue jumps up two weight classes to square off with perennial champion Omar Andres Narvaez for the WBO super flyweight title at the Metropolitan Gym in Tokyo, which is set to air on Fuji TV, headlining a stacked fight card that features two other world title bouts.
A win over Narvaez would give Inoue his second divisional title and third win of 2014.
Inoue, a master of every punch in the book at 21 years old, is a fundamentally sound box-fighter whose lead left hand is cultured much beyond his years. He hits to the head and body with a destructive upshot—a byproduct of a lifetime of exclusive training at the hands of his father Shingo, who just won the Eddie Townsend award, as reported by AsianBoxing.com on Sunday, which is given annually to the best trainer in Japan.
A professional of just seven fights, Monster can hardly be called a prospect. He's found success and triumph on a world-class level despite his inexperience.
In April, he won the WBC World Light Flyweight Championship by way of a flawless sixth-round TKO of hardened Mexican and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board's No. 1-rated light flyweight, Adrian Hernandez, which was as awe-inspiring as it was scary. Hernandez was a four-time defending champion who had lost just once at 108 pounds—to former titlist Kompayak Porpramook, whom Hernandez exacted violent revenge on in a rematch.
Inoue, still 20, made him quit in six rounds.
Following a thorough beating and knockdown in Round 6, Hernandez could only turn his back in consent to his new conqueror while the referee asked if he could continue.
The Monster had awakened, realizing his goal of becoming a world champion. The scary part is he did it in just six fights—the quickest Japanese to ever do so.
Next was a title defense against a third-rate fighter in Samartlek Kokietgym that served as the main undercard to Roman Gonzalez's dismantling of the world's premier flyweight, Akira Yaegashi, in early September.
Kokietgym, 17-4, was obviously no one to write home about, but Inoue wouldn't be the only Fighter of the Year nominee to trade fists with overmatched opposition. Sergey Kovalev's seemingly daunting "3-0" record features unheralded names like Blake Caparello and Cedric Agnew, and half of "Chocolatito" Gonzalez's bouts in 2014 could be described as tune-up fights (Juan Purisima and Juan Kantun).
Inoue took care of business, nonetheless. Toying with his opponent for the duration of the bout, he mixed up a venomous body attack and a jab that looked straight out of a video game to take home another TKO in Round 11, improving his record to 7-0.
His career may just be getting started, but his time at light flyweight was over. "I stank," Inoue told reporters following the fight, per Yahoo Sports. "I struggled to make weight and to be honest it's a relief to have won."
A short jump to flyweight seemed only natural, but Inoue and his team were unable to secure a title fight in the loaded 112-pound weight class before the end of the year. So he goes up to 118 pounds to take on the very best super flyweight in the world.
Rated No. 1 by both TBRB and The Ring, Omar Narvaez, 39, is a peculiar stylist who operates with gritty defensive tactics and timely counterpunching. He seems to move in slow motion sometimes, but his opponents still have trouble tagging him cleanly.
He's reigned over the super flyweight division since May 2010 when he outslugged Everth Briceno for the WBO strap.
The Argentine champion has proceeded to make 11 consecutive title defenses and holds an astonishing record of 28-1-1 in world title fights, dating back to his time at flyweight. He's a tank of a fighter who has made a habit of outlasting younger challengers. It's going to take a special fighter to beat him.
Inoue, in possession of crippling power in both hands, seems to fit the bill. He's also the first fighter outside of Nonito Donaire to drag Narvaez out of Argentina, where's he's undefeated, since 2008.
In victory, he'll be the only man this year to claim two world titles in two separate weight classes. Jumping up two divisions is a weight-climbing exploit that, as Boxing News mentioned, hasn't been mirrored since Shane Mosley skipped over junior lightweight to challenge Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC welterweight belt way back in the year 2000.
The win would give the Japanese marvel just as many, if not more, notable victories for 2014 as any other likely Fighter of the Year candidate: Kovalev (Bernard Hopkins), Miguel Cotto (Sergio Martinez), Roman Gonzalez (Yaegashi and Rocky Fuentes), Floyd Mayweather (Marcos Maidana twice) and Manny Pacquiao (Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri).
The 108- and 115-pound ranks don't admittedly compare highly to some of the stronger crops of fighters in the world like flyweight and welterweight, but neither does the incredibly thin lightweight division that Terence Crawford ran over this year. And the same can be said about Gennady Golovkin's 160-pound brethren.
Inoue's case for Fighter of the Year is just as strong as that of any of these fine fighters if he manages to snatch away Narvaez's title next week.
So save your vote. 2014 isn't over just yet.
