Naoya Inoue
Speed, footwork and a body shot that ends nights.
- Born
- April 10, 1993, Zama, Kanagawa, Japan
- Nationality
Japan- Height
- 165 cm (5′5″)
- Reach
- 171 cm (5′7″)
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Style
- Power boxer-puncher
- Weight
- Light flyweight, Flyweight, Super flyweight, Bantamweight, Super bantamweight
- Active
- 2012–present
- Status
- Active · age 33
The record
Professional; as of his May 2026 win over Junto Nakatani, confirmed by ESPN record
The story
aoya Inoue, from Zama in Kanagawa, turned pro in 2012 and won the WBC light flyweight title in 2014. Later that year he moved up two weight classes and knocked out the veteran champion Omar Narváez in two rounds. At bantamweight he won the World Boxing Super Series, beating Nonito Donaire in the 2019 final, and in 2022 he became the first undisputed bantamweight champion of the four-belt era. He moved up again and was undisputed at super bantamweight by the end of 2023, one of only three men to be undisputed in two divisions in the four-belt era. In May 2026 he outpointed the unbeaten Junto Nakatani in front of 55,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome to go 33-0.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- World champion in four weight classes, light flyweight to super bantamweight
- Undisputed bantamweight champion (2022–2023)
- Undisputed super bantamweight champion (2023–present)
- The Ring Fighter of the Year (2023)
- BWAA Sugar Ray Robinson Award (2023)
- The Ring Fight of the Year (2019, vs Nonito Donaire)
Defining fights
- 2014WINvs Omar Narváez (KO 2, won WBO junior bantamweight title)
- 2019WINvs Nonito Donaire (UD 12, World Boxing Super Series final)
- 2022WINvs Paul Butler (KO 11, undisputed bantamweight title)
- 2023WINvs Marlon Tapales (KO 10, undisputed super bantamweight title)
- 2026WINvs Junto Nakatani (UD 12, Tokyo Dome)
Change levels: Inoue sets up left hooks to the body with the jab upstairs, and has also feinted to the body before landing the hook to the head. Drill jab-high, hook-low combinations and the reverse feint.
