Naoya Inoue is widely considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but is he as big a puncher as fans think?
The Japanese superstar has wowed audiences with his victories over the likes of Nonito Donaire and Stehen Fulton over the years. Of his 28 professional wins, 25 have been stoppages, and he is believed to be one of the most powerful hitters in the lower weight classes.
However, one of his former opponents reckons that his power may be slightly overstated in the grand scheme of things.
TJ Doheny was happy with Naoya Inoue performance
Naoya Inoue’s latest win came against the Irish former world champion TJ Doheny. The Portlaois native had been on an impressive run in Japan, ending unbeaten runs and eventually earning his way to a shot at the belt.
“I was really enjoying it in there,” Doheny told Seconds Out’s Ayman Khan ahead of his latest headliner against Nick Ball. “I had my coach Hector Bermudez in my corner and the Japanese crowds are really quiet so he was just guiding me through rounds, telling me what to do.
“Between his guidance and my ability we were doing okay, I felt like I took a couple of rounds off him and that was kind of the plan. We wanted to box early because the longer we were in the fight, the more chance we had of winning.
“But then unfortunately for me at the end of round six I got an awful shot. It was kind of my own fault as well because I kind of turned into the shot and it snuck around the back but I felt like I was doing okay and I was really enjoying it in there.
“Especially when you’re in there with the pound-for-pound number three and you’re having plenty of success, I was starting to shine.”
TJ Doheny questions if Naoya Inoue is as big a puncher as claimed
In the seventh round, Inoue appeared to hit Doheny so hard that the power rang all the way from the side he was hit to the opposite end of his body. But he insists that it is shot selection, and not power, that make him such a brutal knockout artist.
“I’m afraid to say he doesn’t have that power,” Doheny continued. “But I wasn’t feeling it and I will say one thing which was that his punch placement and his accuracy, he was hitting me in all the right spots when he was landing.
“But I took a couple of shots to the head and it didn’t make me thing ‘ohh, if that had of landed a bit better that would have KO’d me’. But I don’t want to say he doesn’t have the power, I just didn’t taste it on the night.
“He probably didn’t get a good shot on the chin or anything… He was quite clever the way he was adding pressure and cutting off the ring, because I was circling around and I don’t mind boxing off the ropes in the corner sometimes.
“But he was very good at pressing and just getting you a tiny bit out of range and coming back in. That’s where I was starting to struggle as the fight was going on.”
TJ Doheny names Naoya Inoue in his top pound-for-pound fighters
Inoue’s spot atop the pound-for-pound list is often debated due to a perceived lack of top competition at his weight. But Doheny reckons that he has shown through moving up and up that he is worthy of a place in the top few positions.
“Yeah, he’s top three,” Doheny admitted. “It’s hard to solidify because there’s an argument for everybody there. It’s hard to solidify a space for him because of that but he’s definitely in the top three.
“I think 126lb is going to be his ceiling, I can’t put my finger on anybody at the moment who could beat him. But you never know as he moves up in class and weight, when you’re in against bigger stronger guys all it takes is that one shot.”
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