Inoue didn’t let up, flooring Narvaez for the second time with a left hand just seconds later. Inoue didn’t rush his work, working behind a stiff and quick jab against the depleting Narvaez. Inoue continued patiently behind his jab until halfway through the second round, until Narvaez hit the mat for the third time from a rapid left hook. Having fallen to his knees, Narvaez got to his feet to take a standing eight-count. Inoue stalked his opponent until finding the closing shot, a left hook to the body. Narvaez refused to rise for any further punishment for Inoue to become a two-weight champion inside eight fights. Inoue would stay at the weight limit for the next seven fights.

The victory didn’t break the global headlines, but the win had entered the fast-tracked star into conversations for any pound-for-pound list. Inoue’s breakthrough came at a time when the likes of Roman Gonzalez had seen a resurgence of interest in the lower weight classes.

Emmanuel Rodriguez- WBA And IBF Bantamweight Unification, SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland. March 18, 2019

A 26-year-old Inoue came to Glasgow in just his second fight abroad in the bantamweight version of the World Boxing Super Series. Inoue’s stock was still rising, but British boxing fans were well aware of his destructive abilities after he wiped out Jamie McDonnell for the WBA bantamweight title two fights previously. The fast-rising Inoue followed his win over McDonnell by making quick work of Juan Carlos Payano in the first round of the World Boxing Super Series, which was heavily promoted to the European audience.

Due to the aforementioned and continuous highlight-reel stoppages, Inoue’s appearance in Scotland was highly anticipated ahead of a unification with IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez. It was another short-lived affair, with Rodriguez being stopped in the second round. The Puerto Rican (19-0 at the time) started positively, landing a good jab to start the bout. However, it would be long until Inoue would land a right hand. Rodriguez maintained his footing and traded with Inoue competitively until the first bell. But Inoue lit the match at the start of the second, folding Rodriguez with a left hand. Remarkably, he would struggle to his feet, but Inoue would land a right to the body to stick him to the canvas a second time. The end swiftly followed as Rodriguez fell for a third and final time under a gluttony of body shots.

The Monster had truly arrived outside his homeland in the unlikely setting of the SSE Hydro in Scotland’s biggest city.

Luis Nery-Undisputed Super Bantamweight Title Defence, Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2024

Inoue was hot off the heels of becoming the undisputed super bantamweight champion when he welcomed Mexico’s Luis Nery to the Tokyo Dome nearly two years ago. In his previous fight, Inoue made history, becoming the first undisputed super bantamweight champion with a 10th-round knockout over Marlon Tapales. He was only a year removed from claiming the undisputed bantamweight title against Paul Butler.

Inoue ‘s stamp as a top three pound-for-pound had rarely been disputed ahead of going into a long-discussed collision with Nery. Inoue’s prior success saw the Tokyo Dome stage its first boxing event since Mike Tyson was on the end of a shock tenth-round stoppage against James ‘Buster’ Douglas on February 11, 1990. This weekend’s all-Japanese duel with Nakatani is just the second boxing match at the famous venue since his victory over the Mexican.

The Japanese superstar had an early scare in front of his biggest audience to date. Nery landed a speedy left hook to drop Inoue in the opening round. It wouldn’t be long until Inoue leveled the playing field with his own left hook in the second round. Inoue found his rhythm and went on to dominate the next two rounds, putting his early knockdown to the back of his mind. Nery would hit the floor again in the fifth, as he pressed Inoue to receive another left hook to the chin.

Inoue closed the show in destructive fashion, planting a thudding right hand on the chin of Nery in the sixth.