By Jimmy Ayash

Naoya Inoue is the First Boxer to Top the P4P list for 12 consecutive months since Román Chocolatito González:

Nicaragua’s Gonzalez owned the Boxing Action Magazine #1 P4P spot for an incredible 52 months (4 years, 4 months), Gonzalez was a staple of HBO boxing and almost single handedly put the smaller boxing weight divisions back in the spot light. Until Gonzalez came along, most major networks had no plans of showcasing the smaller weights classes of the sport. Gonzalez is one of the sports true trailblazers.

Inoue is a three division champion and is naturally bigger then Gonzalez by about 4-5 pounds, which is equivalent to about 25-30 if Heavyweights are fighting each other (very big size difference – similar to when Rigondeaux fought Lomachenko).

Inoue just turned 26 years old and is in Boxing’s best possible position. He is young and in his prime, already an accomplished legend winning multiple titles in multiple weight classes and most importantly almost no wear & tear on him whatsoever.

Another Japanese Phenom is Kosei Tanaka (The Monster of Chukyo). He is only 23 years old with a 13-0 record. Tanaka is also a three weight division champion/Star and is a top P4P Boxer. Tanaka ‘s bouts are often very exciting and are most often fight of the year candidates. Tanaka and Inoue both take on top competition, the difference is Tanaka absorbs quite a bit of punishment in getting his victories, Inoue simply dominates his opponents and knocks them out before most fans settle into their seats.

Inoue (The Monster) is on an 8 Fight Knockout streak. It’s truly  mind-boggling to think that he is so easily dominating the top echelon of the division the way he is.

In May 2018, Inoue became the first boxer to stop Jamie McDonnell (Round 1).

In October 2018, Inoue became the first boxer to stop Juan Carlos Payano (Round 1).

Last week (May 2019), Inoue badly beat the second best boxer in the division, stopping the tough as nails Emmanuel Rodriguez in Round 2 and handing him the first loss of his great career.

Next up for Inoue will be Nonito Donaire. They will fight for the right to hoist the Muhammad Ali Super Series Trophy. This fight is being hyped as a terrific fight, and many boxing experts believe that Inoue will have his toughest challenge to date.

No disrespect to The Pilipino Flash – Nonito Donaire who has had a legendary career and has been a great ambassador to the sport of boxing, but this fight will essentially be a no contest. I don’t believe Donaire could have last five rounds with Inoue during his prime. There are a few different scenarios where this fight could actually go into the third round, it will most likely be  a second round stoppage.

Donaire’s corner will have to watch how much punishment Nonito takes and have the white towel in hand ready for throwing. Inoue is simply a different type of fighter, one of the best I have ever seen.

Boxing Action Magazine June P4P list will be published next week and Naoya Inoue will once again reign on Top for the 12th consecutive month.

Naoya Inoue has proven to the world that -Monsters Are Real.

Congratulations Naoya Inoue