Why Naoya Inoue Should Be Fighter Of The Year

Inoue’s long schedule is his strongest selling point.

If boxing can’t always give us the best fighting the best, then we at least have to reward the fighters who stay active and take real risks. We should want a sport where the best are active.

Naoya Inoue stepped into the ring four times in two countries and faced serious opposition each time. He might have taken it easier as his looming fight with Junto Nakatani will be the biggest in Japanese boxing history. But that’s not who he is — no shortcuts, no soft touches. That is unheard of in our current era of boxing.

That’s what matters, and that’s how you earn the title of Fighter of the Year.

Other Contenders for Fighter of the Year

One would likely argue that there's a three-man race for Fighter of the Year, which includes Inoue, Terence Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs), and perhaps Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs).

Usyk had a big win over Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs), stepping into the ring for the first undisputed heavyweight title fight in British history. Yet, that win isn’t as big as it first appears, as Usyk had already stopped Dubois once. The fight was further marred by social media footage that appeared to show Dubois attending a party at his house the day of the fight.

The other, and far stronger challenger, is Terence Crawford. Crawford chased history, jumping two weight classes to make the fight for the undisputed 168 lbs crown. Crawford's win was the performance of the year, to be sure. Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) was the younger fighter, but arguably not the fresher of the two, having fought more frequently compared to Crawford.

A final pitch for The Monster

Which brings us back to Naoya Inoue’s 2025 in the ring, where he defeated Kim Ye-joon (22-3-2, 10 KOs), Ramon Cardenas (27-2, 15 KOs), Murodjon Akhmadaliev (14-2, 11 KOs), and David Picasso (30-3, 18 KOs).

Sure, Kim Ye-joon is forgettable, other than the fact that his ring moniker is the unbelievable “Troublemaker Pacquiweather.” The others are all solid top 10 guys.

Above all, Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev was supposed to be a real test for Inoue, yet he won a round or two and was shown that levels exist in the game of boxing. MJ is a great fighter and will bounce back for sure.

Whether Inoue wins Fighter of the Year or not, he deserves a long rest. Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) might want one more fight before he meets Inoue to help put the memory of his recent performance behind him on the Riyadh Season card, where he struggled with Sebastian Hernandez.

Maybe he should tell his matchmaker about “Troublemaker Pacquiweather.”