This past week two of the bantamweight division’s most significant fighters made their way back inside the squared circle.
Last weekend at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, four-division champion Nonito Donaire (42-6, 28 KOs) scored a fourth-round knockout over the previously undefeated Reymart Gaballo with a left hook to the body to successfully defend his WBC bantamweight title.
Earlier this week, three-division champion Naoya Inoue (22-0, 19 KOs) took out mandatory challenger Aran Dipaen in Japan with a dominant eighth-round stoppage. The fight with Dipaen was Inoue’s first fight in Japan in two years and the third defense of his unified WBA and IBF bantamweight championships.
Inoue, 28, is rated as one of the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound, currently sitting at the number four spot on Ring Magazine’s list.
In 2019, Inoue signed a promotional deal with Top Rank in hopes of getting more exposure in the United States. The Japanese pugilist’s momentum was on the rise heading into 2020, having won the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament with the final fight against Donaire considered the 2019 fight of the year.
However, since signing with Top Rank, Inoue’s career has stagnated.
The global COVID-19 pandemic played a role just like it did on the entire boxing industry, but Top Rank hasn’t done Inoue any favors by not keeping him as active as possible.
Inoue scored an impressive and emphatic seventh-round knockout over Australia’s Jason Moloney in his lone fight of 2020. But, his 2021 has seen him step in the ring twice against non-descript opponents, which garnered more apathy than admiration.
Whether it would have been against elite opponents or not, Inoue would have been better served following in Saul Alvarez’s footsteps fighting at least three times in 2021.
In a weight class where fighters rarely get the recognition they deserve due to a lack of knowledge and coverage, being visible by staying active is crucial for a fighter’s market value.
Luckily for him, a major fight awaits on the horizon.
While Inoue’s career has plateaued since his fight with Donaire, his Filipino opponent has continued on his resurgent path since moving back down to bantamweight in 2018.
Donaire has fought twice in 2021, including scoring a fourth-round knockout over Nordine Oubaali to win the WBC bantamweight title in a fight that he was the underdog.
