Naoya Inoue

Naoya Inoue is a Japanese boxer. Current WBO Super Flyweight champion. He was born in Zama, Kanagawa, and is currently managed by Hideyuki Ohashi’s Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama, Kanagawa.

Amateur career

Inoue won the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting and the Japanese Junior National Championships in 2009. In 2010, he took the bronze medal in the Asian Youth Championships in Tehran, Iran, and won the Japanese Junior Selection Tournament. He then participated in the AIBA Youth World Championships, but lost to Yosvany Veitía in the third preliminary round. He finished in the second place at the Japanese National Championships in the same year.

In July 2011, he took the gold medal in the 21st President’s Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. He subsequently won the first place in the Japanese Interscholastic Athletic Meeting in that year. However, he was eliminated in the third round by Yosvany Veitía in the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, and lost to Birzhan Zhakypov in the final at the 2012 Asian Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.[4] His amateur record was 75-6 (48 KOs and RSCs).

Professional career

Inoue turned professional in 2012. When he registered with the Ohashi Boxing Gym, he signed up with Ohashi never to fight against easy opponents, on his own will. His past fights and opponents have brought him confidence and courage.

On October 2, 2012, he fought against Filipino champion Crison Omayao, and won his debut via a fourth round knockout. After this victory, he won two straight victories over Thai champion Ngaoprajan Chuwatana and Japan’s number one-ranked boxer Yūki Sano.

In November 2014, he vacated his light flyweight title in order to challenge WBO Junior Bantamweight Champion Omar Andrés Narváez.