Bob Arum says Naoya Inoue is the best fighter he has ever seen

Promoter Bob Arum says undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue is the “best fighter” he has ever seen in “60 years” covering the sport. In other words, Arum rates Inoue above Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

Inoue superior to Ali, Leonard and Duran

Arum, who promotes former four-division world champion Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) with his Top Rank company, has promoted fighters with far better credentials than the 32-year-old Japanese star. It’s hard to take him seriously given Inoue’s rather poor resume in terms of quality wins.

Arum’s Mount Rushmore of Greats

• Muhammad Ali
• Manny Pacquiao
• Wonderful” Marvin Hagler
• Sugar Ray Leonard
• George Foreman
• Oscar De La Hoya
• Floyd Mayweather Jr.
• Alexis Arguello
• Roberto Duran
• Thomas Hearns

When you look at the massive talents that the 93-year-old Arum has promoted, they have done far more in their careers than ‘Monster’ Inoue. He is a good fighter, but he has had the advantage of fighting in weak divisions against limited opposition.

Donaire exposes cracks in the ‘monster’ myth

We saw what happened to him when he was knocked out in their first fight against a past his prime 36 year old Nonito Donaire.

A resume that doesn’t match the praise

• Stephen Fulton
• Nonito Donaire (x2)
• Murodjon Akhmadaliev
• Ramon Cardenas
• Marlon Tapales
• Paul Butler
• Luis Nery
• Emmanuel Rodriguez
• Omar Narvaez
• Jamie McDonnell
• Juan Carlos Payano
• Jason Moloney
• Adrian Hernandez

“Inoue is not only pound-for-pound the best in the world, Inoue is the best fighter I’ve ever seen, no matter what weight class or anything,” promoter Bob Arum said. Jai McAllister about Naoya Inoue.

“I’ve never seen anything like Inoue in the almost 60 years I’ve been in the box,” Arum said.

As for Chris Williams, Inoue didn’t test himself by moving up to featherweight to face the sharks that would show if he’s the thing.

Moving up a mere four pounds to 126 to face the likes of Rafael Espinoza, Bruce Carrington, Angelo Leo and Mirco Cuello, one could give him credit for being among the greats. But certainly not the best, because Inoue will still have to do a lot more than beat these guys to be in the top four of the Mount Rushmore of boxing.

Fans see a pattern: safety over substance

Many fans view Inoue as a cherry picker and a fighter who chooses to play it safe by taking easy fights to pad his record rather than jumping right in with the cream of the crop. For example, instead of Inoue now facing Junto Nakatani, he is defending his four 122-lb belts against David Picasso on December 27 in Riyadh.

That fight is seen as another gimme for ‘The Monster’ Inoue. There’s no demand for that fight, and it’s just another in a long line of setups Naoya has taken rather than risk his hide to fight the top predators that would show his true talent or lack thereof.