WBO bantamweight champion Zolani Tete pulled out of his WBSS semi-final against Nonito Donaire due to an injury in the right shoulder. Donaire beat replacement fighter Stephon Young and booked himself into Thursday’s final against unified WBA/IBF world champion Naoya Inoue.
However, Tete (28-3, 21 KOs) isn’t conceding that Inoue (18-0, 16 KOs) is the best bantamweight even if he wins the Ali trophy. “Inoue knows he needs to see me if he wants to be bantamweight king,” Tete proclaimed. “I believe he will beat Donaire but he knows he must beat me before he can call himself the real king.”
“It is unfortunate I had to pull out of the tournament but I am now fit and healthy again. I have a tough fight against [mandatory challenger John Riel Casimero] on November 30 but, God willing I come through, I definitely want to fight Inoue.”
Monster will destroy both of them. Donaire & Tete.
I like Tete’s sense of humor. He hasn’t beaten a top 10 yet but thinks he can challenge Inoue. His best win was against Narvaez who is 44 and about to retire.
Tete has to get by Casimero first before he can challenge any top 3 in the division.
The best fight for Inoue would be against Nery.
Zolani Tete is a very crafty and difficult fighter that carry decent power. He is very tall 5’9″ and knows how to use his reach and size advantages. Tete at 31 years of age is getting old for a small weight fighter. His break through fight was against Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. in 2013 (touted as the best Mexican prospect then) then he got a great victory in England against Paul Butler, and that’s all. Only 8 fights in 6 years is clear statement of his inconsistency. If he wants a shot to Inoue, he might get it because he has a belt, but I think if he defeats Casimero, a fight against Luis Nery should define who has the right to face Inoue, once he gets rid of Donaire
i don’t know why people are criticising Tete for saying this. He is simply saying he dropped out of the competition due to injury. If the competition was supposed to prove who was the best then what he is saying has some truth. He doesn’t even say he will beat Inoue. He is actually fairly humble. At least he still wants to unify.
CB: I don’t know what “people are saying” but I think its still premature for him to call out Inoue. This has nothing to do with the injury. Let’s see how he does against Casimero. If he can win convincingly, he may get a shot at the top 3 of the division.
At the same time, you also have to look at it from Inoue’s perspective: he doesn’t need Tete – he has bigger fights ahead of him (provided he can get by Donaire).
I like the fact that you point out that Tete is “fairly humble”. Maybe the media has misquoted Tete: “Inoue knows he needs to see me”, which is not a humble statement. Inoue doesn’t need to see Tete; at least not yet.
i take your point, but he is referring to the nature of the tournament. if a fight with tete doesnt deserve discussion, then the entire tournament was pointless. i think that is how a lot of people see these mini tournaments
I agree. I feel that being taken out by injury he feels there is unfinished business. Also Inoue will be one of the higher paid smaller guys if he wins and more so if he destroys The Flash. Never dumb to at least keep your name out there while at the same time try to lock up the biggest fight he’ll ever have a chance at getting.
@Anthony: I understand the point of keeping one’s name out there. At the same time, it has become increasingly popular for unqualified fighters to challenge big names. Actions speak louder than words. If someone is qualified, they will get their shot in time.
Inoue hasnt fought anybody all he beat were tomato cans and all of a sudden he beats donair? Donair by KO
You probably wouldn’t want to bet that way.
If I were the Monster, then I’d go see Tete. Tete’s not wrong that an injury is a crap way to be out of the tournament. If he deserved to be in it, then he deserves his time in the ring whether you think he has a shot or not. Other than losses, the only reason not to make the fight is if they can’t make the weight (Monster is pretty big for the Division).
Credit to tete he has balls!