Oleksandr Usyk IMAGO / Newspix

Oleksandr Usyk Congratulates Naoya Inoue After Record-Setting Title Defense

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Dec 28, 2025 9:19 AM ET

Naoya Inoue might have made a fan out of Oleksandr Usyk with his latest title defense.

Inoue improved to 32-0 on Saturday with a lopsided decision win over David Picasso to retain the undisputed super bantamweight title. Although he did not find the knockout, he impressed many with his dominant performance, including heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who watched the fight ring-side.

Usyk congratulated Inoue in the ring after the fight and doubled up on his praise of Inoue after the fact on social media.

"[Naoya Inoue] congratulations!" Usyk wrote. "You showed true champion level. A spectacular fight and the true spirit of a warrior."

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With Inoue openly admitting that retirement is on his mind, the bout with Nakatani could be the final big fight of his career. Inoue is already widely regarded as the greatest boxer in Japanese history and arguably the best sub-140-pound fighter of all time.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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