By Joe Koizumi
Boxing isn’t dead in Japan, but just stagnant for a while. Unbeaten WBA, IBF bantamweight champion “Monster” Naoya Inoue was unanimously named Boxer of the Year for 2021 by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) and the boxing subcommittee of Tokyo Athletic Writers Club on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. It was the fifth time that Naoya received the honorable award, having tied the records of a couple of former greats—Japan’s first world champ Yoshio Shirai in 1949 through 1953 and ex-WBA 108-pound titleholder Yoko Gushiken who kept it thirteen times to his credit—in 1976 through 1980.
Other awards were given to the following:
Knockout award: Naoya Inoue (for five years in a row)
Technique award: WBO 115-pound champ Kazuto Ioka
Valuable victory award: IBF 130-pound ruler Kenichi Ogawa
Efforts award: OPBF 140-pound champ Koichi Aso
Rookie citations: WBO AP 118-pound titlist Ryosuke Nishida
Fight of the Year: WBC light flyweight title bout of Masamichi Yabuki and Kenshiro Teraji
Female Boxer of the Year: WBA flyweight champ Naoko Fujioka
Female Fight of the Year: Fujioka versus Sulem Urbina in Los Angeles
Having taken thirty-two out of the effective 37 votes in total, Inoue said, “I’m happy to be in receipt of this award again. I will try to be Boxer of the Year this year as I wish to improve more and more.”
Naoya is reportedly scheduled to face his grudge rival Nonito Donaire in a unification rematch in June or so. The award ceremony will not take place because of the still rampant COVID-19 pandemic with omicron variant spreading.
I think Inoue is going to hand that off to Junto Nakatani in a year or two, I think he’s the next big thing in Japan. And Nishida is interesting! Only 5-0, but he’s already been 12 rounds twice and he beat Daigo Higa, a former world champion who is only a year older, without much difficulty.
Do you mean Ryosuke Nishida? He’s 5 – 0 and has faced Daigo Higa.
But I think Ryosuke Nishida has more to prove and has a long way to go. Personally I doubt he ever will be no.1 p4p in Japan.
Junto Nakatani has never faced Daigo Higa. Maybe you mixed up the records?
Because Junto Nakatani is certainly highly interesting. He is 22 – 0 (17 KOs), explosive and comes with boxing skills. He has proved himself more than once in the ring and is a strong candidate to be no.1 in Japan in near future. He is only 24 years old.
Naoya Inoue is also 22 – 0 (19 KOs) and will be 29 in april.
Junto Nakatani is boxing in fly. He is actually taller than Naoya Inoue in bantam. A future superfight?
I see now that I probably read your post a little too fast 🙂
Okay. I was about to say that I think I wrote it out okay. No worries.
inoue targets your liver thats why he always wins, his a liver killer