Bruce Carrington says Naoya Inoue’s punching resistance will not withstand the punch as he at featherweight if he prefers to move in weight soon. Carrington is of the opinion that ‘The Monster’ inoue (30-0, 27 COs) is too small ‘to go with the larger fighters at 126.
Carrington (15-0, 9 COs) is fighting for the WBC-TUs-Time Featherweight title against Mateus Heita (14-0, 9 COs) in a twelve fight this Saturday, July 26 in Madison Square Garden Theater in New York.
Carrington: Inoue too small
“His father knows he’s not ready, and I don’t know if he’ll ever be ready,” Bruce Carrington said to the Sean Zittel channelAnd his thoughts about Naoya Inoue are not ready to move to featherweight. “It’s not just about the fighting style. The man is small, and these guys hit 126. ‘
It is crazy for Inoue to wait much longer before going up to featherweight, because it is a section he will need as much of his remaining youth as possible. Waiting until he is 33 or 34 would be foolish.
“I don’t know if his punching resistance will be able to resist as we come up here at 126. This is a big difference. Granted, it’s just four pounds. It may seem so, but it’s a big difference. Just the way I save these guys at 122 and 126. The power is 100% different, ‘says Carrington.
Inoue’s chin is deteriorating
We saw in Naoya’s last against Ramon Cardenas that his chin was starting to show signs of decline. If he were to move to 126, he would have to be selective in whom he was fighting to stop him from being knocked out.
“If he fought against me as he fought against Ramon Cardenas, I really don’t think he gets out of the knockout he had,” Carrington said. “I don’t think he would have lasted another round or two because I’m a finish. If I got a man down and hurt, I’m going to get them away. ‘
Inoue is an old 32, and it is doubtful that he will still have a lot left after facing Murodjon
Akhmadaliev and Junto Nakatani. Those guys are not going to fold without striking a few chips of inoue. If there is anything left of ‘The Monster’ inoue to those collisions, he will want to stay at 122 to fight against the opposition. He does not want to go up to 126 to mix it with Carrington.
“If he and I ever fight, it would be a very tactical struggle. I really don’t think he will be able to resist me and my bumps, ‘Carrington said about Inoue. ‘Cardenas had momentum where he could have beaten inoue. He had the knockout for him, but then Cardenas started throwing haymakers. ‘
There is very little chance that Naoya will ever fight against Carrington with the time he has left in his career. He is already frozen by the champions at 126. But if Carrington catches a belt on featherweight in the next year or two, inoue would choose one of the other champions. The only one that inoue wants is the WBA champion Nick Ball. He is not interested in fighting WBO champion Rafael Espinoza for obvious reasons. He is too big.
Inoue freezing of hooks
“Inoue began to respect his power a bit and started fighting a little on the back foot,” Carrington said. ‘Inoue never liked to fight on the back foot. He never really likes to fight like that. He likes to fight on the forefoot. If Cardenas would throw his combinations, it would freeze inoues from time to time. ‘
Inoue was forced to freeze when Cardenas threw his left brackets because they were so fast and powerful. Those who did land bothered Inoue, but he took everyone well except for the one who dropped him in round two.
“If you can maintain that level of respect, you will be able to go with inoues. Cardenas left it through. I think he got too caught up to try to get the one -time knockdown again. This was done so badly, and inoue showed his championship advantage, ‘says Carrington.
What Carrington does not say is that Cardenas only had a left hook and nothing else about his game. His right hand was nothing and had no variation to prevent inoues from neutralizing his offense. If he had more tools, he would surely have knocked out in thee.
“I, I wouldn’t fall for that. I know how to keep my foot on the gas and exert the pressure. The one round to the next he will fold, ‘says Carrington.
Ramon Cardenas fought like a mad after dropping Inoue in round two. He started throwing wild left brackets, missing badly, and eventually inoue left him in the seventh round.
Last updated on 07/23/2025
