A MONSTER’S PASSION
During the hour-long interview, Inoue, a two-division Ring champion with a deep respect for the magazine, spoke seriously and at times with a smile about his past, present and future. “The Monster” carefully outlined his career plans, spoke about his rivals in other weight classes and even mused about when he might retire. The Ring: First of all, I’d like you to look back on your latest fight against Ye-Joon Kim (a fourth-round knockout win for Inoue), which had a lot going on before it happened. Do you view it now as a good experience? Naoya Inoue: I’ve come up with a new way to prepare, or a plan to get myself in shape in two months. Normally I’d do it over about four or five weeks, but this time, because of the postponement, I had to prepare over a long span of eight weeks. That’s something I’ve never done before. Ring: The fight was postponed [11 days before the original date] due to an injury to Sam Goodman, and then Goodman was injured again, so Kim was brought in as a replacement [on two weeks’ notice]. Did you have to repeat the peaking process that was done once? Inoue: After the postponement was announced, I ate some food for about 10 days but kept training. Although I stopped adjusting my weight for 10 days, I didn’t gain any fat, so the burden on my body from conditioning and losing weight continued as it was. So it wasn’t easy, for sure. Ring: Mr. Hideyuki Ohashi (the chairman of Ohashi Gym) said that when he told you about the postponement, you looked completely unconcerned. But how did you really feel? Inoue: At that time, there was nothing I could do, and I didn’t think there was any need to cancel the fight, so I just had to accept it. When I heard about Goodman’s injury, I thought it would be fine if we postponed for a month. It was also decided at that point
that we would have a substitute fighter in case of another accident. However, I never thought I would actually fight Kim, who was the substitute. I hardly watched any film of Kim. Still, I thought I fought well, so I think it was a good experience in the end. Ring: Is there any change to the plan to fight four times in 2025, starting with the Kim bout? Inoue: No change. I plan to fight in January, May, September and December. Ring: You’d have six fights over the two years from 2024 to 2025, and that is a pretty high pace in modern boxing. Aren’t you concerned about the strain it will put on your body? Inoue: There is no need to worry about the strain, and there are no mental anxieties either. I think that I can do this now, because I’m at the top. If it becomes difficult for me physically or due to age, I think that three or four fights a year will be too much, so I want to do it now while I can. Ring: Your next fight is scheduled for May in Las Vegas. After two fights in Vegas in 2020-21, you mentioned that you would like to fight in Japan again. With your recent string of fights in Japan, are you starting to feel attracted to fighting overseas again? Inoue: The reason I chose Japan as my battlefield at that time was that the pandemic had calmed down, and at the same time, the streaming market in Japan had been established enough to allow important fights to be held. The reason my predecessors in the boxing world once pursued the American Dream was because they could have a big fight if they beat a good opponent or two in America. However, in modern times, Japan has become the epicenter for the lower weight classes. One of the reasons I decided to fight in Las Vegas again was I was offered a good deal. I could feel respected, too. Ring: You’ve already made a lot of money, but as a professional and a pioneer of Japanese boxers active on
the world stage, I imagine you’d like to continue looking for suitable deals in the future. Inoue: As long as I am doing boxing as a profession, I want to be particular about that in a good way. It’s the same for people who do any job, not just boxing. I think that the motivation of businessmen changes depending on the contract. As a professional fighter, I want to pursue a contract that allows me to be properly valued. Ring: As you mentioned earlier, your last fight in Las Vegas was held during the pandemic. Looking back at that time, what do you remember? Inoue: The Jason Moloney fight was held in a true “bubble” environment. All members of the camp were tested when moving around the hotel, and only those who tested negative were allowed to pass through. I really felt that we had to fight COVID mentally as well. However, I remember that by the time of the Michael Dasmarinas fight, the restrictions had been eased considerably, and there were many more opportunities to go outside. Ring: While reporting from inside the bubble, we media also felt scared every time we had a test. When I got a call from the front desk, I was terrified that I had tested positive. (laughs) Inoue: I was scared too! I was worried that I might not be able to fight. (laughs) That was the most memorable thing about the Moloney fight. I think everyone was more focused on how to spend their time in the bubble than on the fight itself. Ring: Did you know that the date of your next fight is the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo? How happy are you to take over the baton of the Las Vegas event that has been handed down from the days of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather? Inoue: I don’t know the details or the background of Cinco de Mayo, but I knew that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has been fighting at that time every year. Of course I’m happy. It looks like my
fight will be held at a large venue called T-Mobile Arena, so I’m a little worried about whether the seats will be filled. It’s a shame that I can’t fight David Picasso, who is popular in Mexico, but I still want to make it an exciting event. Ring: At the end of last year, you made a big splash by signing a sponsorship contract with the Saudi Arabian “Riyadh Season.” Heavyweight fighters are often featured in Saudi, so did it mean anything to you, the 122-pound champion, to be recognized in this way? Inoue: I think it was a very valuable thing. I wonder if this contract shows that what I have done so far has been appreciated. I think the presence of the Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia will become even bigger in the boxing world. There is a possibility that their boxing series will become even bigger from now on. Ring: What was your impression when you actually met Turki Alalshikh? Inoue: He seemed to be a real
wake up in the morning and feel like I don’t want to go training. I also feel that my fans still have high expectations of me, and of course I want to impress them with my performance. Ring: Even with such an impressive career under your belt, what makes boxing so enjoyable? Inoue: Boxing is a deep sport, so I still feel like I’m discovering new things. It’s just a feeling that I’m evolving through experience, and I’m getting better. Of course, in terms of physical strength, reflexes, reactions, etc., there will be things that cannot be resisted by age. I want to be conscious of not losing those parts and add to them and improve as I gain more experience. Ring: You’ve said before that as you’ve gotten older, you’ve started to think first in the ring calmly and then attack. Inoue: Indeed. In my last fight against Kim, if I was younger, I would have gone all out from the first round. But recently, I’ve been focusing on
Inoue consistently caught Ye Joon Kim cleanly and ended matters quickly.
boxing fan who loves boxing. As we listened to him, he started talking about who he wanted to see fight against who, and I could feel his passion to see the best against the best. Ring: After already achieving almost everything a boxer can achieve, where is the motivation now? What drives Naoya Inoue? Inoue: I don’t know if there is a reason that makes me so excited, but I think the biggest reason I keep fighting is that I just love boxing. I don’t find training difficult at all, and I feel like I still have room to grow and get stronger. Ring: You really like boxing, don’t you? Inoue: I love it. (laughs) If I lost that feeling, I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t have any regrets if I quit boxing now. I don’t
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