Naoya Inoue Rules Out A Gervonta Davis Fight
Naoya Inoue has ruled out a fight with Gervonta Davis.
Inoue is set to face the WBA and IBF junior featherweight champion Marlon Tapales in an undisputed super bantamweight clash. Inoue, the WBC and WBO champion, will face Tapales on December 26, 2023, with history on the line. Tapales won the WBA and IBF belts after beating Murodjon Akhmadaliev via a split decision in his last fight.
Inoue entered the division with an eighth-round TKO of Stephen Fulton to win the WBO and WBC belts. Tapales can give Inoue the first defeat of his career as the Japanese is undefeated with a 25-0 record. Inoue is also chasing history as a win makes him undisputed in a second weight class in the four-belt era following his achievements at bantamweight. That would put him alongside Terence Crawford following his feat at 140 and 147. But Tapales is a man on a mission, as he seeks to give the Japanese his first defeat.
Tapales On Inoue
“I believe I have a good chance of winning because I trained real hard for this fight. Most likely, somebody will fall. It’s either him or me. Inoue may be the favourite, but with my training and preparation, I think I would be able to hurdle him. I have no fear. That’s [also] an advantage I think because most of his opponents got intimidated easily. I don’t care about the odds. I’ve been an underdog my whole life,” Tapales said
Inoue On Davis
Inoue has been praised for moving up the weight classes, making him a four-division champion. He has moved up from light flyweight to super bantamweight. This raised suggestions that he could eventually meet Tank Davis. Stephen Espinoza first hinted at the idea. Floyd Mayweather also backed up those comments. He reacted to Inoue’s win over Fulton by stating he wanted to see Tank face the Japanese. In doing so, he suggested the idea of a catchweight.
“Look, you never know. Inoue’s come up a lot of weight already, but he’s been carrying the power the whole time. Yeah it sounds a little bit crazy now he’s at 122lbs, but it’s only 13lbs more.“It’s intriguing. I would love to see Tank vs Inoue. After that performance yesterday I wouldn’t put anything out of his reach,” Espinoza stated
“I think (Inoue) is a hell of a fighter. I would like to see him fight Gervonta at a catchweight. That’d be a hell of a fight,” Floyd Mayweather stated
Despite this being the case, Inoue has ruled it out.
“I don’t think it’s possible. It’s more of a hype that fans are putting together. I think of him very highly. If he’s on the lower part of the pound-for-pound, I think he should be up a little further,” Inoue revealed
Inoue’s primary focus is on becoming undisputed. If he comes through with a win, he could move up to another weight class. ‘Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com’
