Naoya Inoue’s Mega Deal With The Saudis; What’s Next?

November 5, 2024

4 weeks

Naoya Inoue's Mega Deal With The Saudis; What's Next?

Naoya Inoue has signed a $19.7 million sponsorship deal with the Saudis.

The Undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion is one of the best P4P fighters in the world. He is also the former Undisputed Bantamweight Champion. Inoue joined Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk as other fighters to achieve undisputed in two weight classes in the four-belt era. He is coming off a victory against TJ Doheny in his last fight to take his record to 28-0. He is scheduled to face Sam Goodman in his next fight on December 24. Bob Arum recently confirmed that Inoue plans to fight in the United States next year. But a deal with Riyadh Season could change those plans.

Inoue’s Deal

“Inoue is the best and strongest boxer of all time. He has a great interest in Japan and the Japanese market. I hope he will be a good and important ambassador for Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season,” Turki Alalshikh

“I think it’s all about timing. This year’s fight has been decided. I don’t know what will happen next year. If I can fight in Saudi Arabia, I’ll just live up to those expectations. I think I’ll just perform the way I do in Japan,” Inoue

This naturally raises questions about who Inoue would face. He has already cleaned up at super bantamweight, meaning he could move up to featherweight. There are huge names available for him in that division. One of those could be against Brandon Figueroa. The former is a two-weight world champion and the current WBC Champ at featherweight. His record stands at 25 wins with one loss. 19 of those wins have come through knockout, making him one of the most dangerous punchers in the division.

Inoue’s Options

His only defeat came against Stephen Fulton, someone Inoue had already knocked out. Figueroa had won his last three fights since the Fulton loss, stopping two of them. There is also the potential opportunity to face the WBA Champion Nick Ball. Ball is undefeated, with 21 wins and one draw. 12 of his victories have come by way of knockout, meaning that Inoue will fancy his chances of walking his man down. Ball has only secured one stoppage in his last four fights. However, he has respectable wins against Raymond Ford and a draw against Rey Vargas.

There is also an opportunity against Rafael Espinoza, who holds the WBO Belt. He is undefeated, with 25 wins, and 21 of those have come by way of knockout. That will pose Inoue a strong test. He secured the title after stopping Robeisy Ramirez. He defended that title successfully after beating Sergio Sanchez in his next fight. The final champion at featherweight is Angelo Leo, who holds the IBF Belt. He has 25 wins with one loss. 12 of those victories have come by knockout. He secured the title against Luis Alberto Lopez in his last fight, stopping him in the tenth round. Inoue has said there is no rush to move up since he has also established his legacy.

“When I’m ready to go up the weights, and when my body is ready to do that,” Inoue stated

Inoue has sold out numerous stadiums in Japan. Now, the test is whether he can do it in the US.