With his Las Vegas debut out of the way and ending in style, Naoya Inoue is ready to move on to more pressing matters in his already incredible career. (photo by Mikey Williams)
The unbeaten three-division and reigning unified bantamweight titlist looked sensational in a one-sided 7th round knockout of perennial Top 5 contender Jason Moloney. Two knockdowns paved way for Inoue’s fourth stoppage win in five bantamweight fights, the latest of which took place Saturday evening on ESPN+ from The Bubble at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Inoue played the gambling town for the first time in his career, along with just his second stateside fight as a pro. It was also his first ring appearance since outpointing Nonito Donaire to claim top honors in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament, unifying two belts in the process last November in Saitama, Japan.
Following his win over Moloney, the plan moving forward is to collect more hardware.
“[Nordine] Oubaali-Doniare for the WBC and [John Riel] Casimero with the WBO, those titles are well within my sights,” Inoue (20-0, 17KOs) stated after his latest victory.
Yokohama’s Inoue was initially due to face Casimero (30-4, 21KOs) this past April at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas, only for the event to get shut down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Plans to reschedule instead saw both boxers head the separate ways. Casimero settled for a Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard appearance versus unbeaten but untested Duke Micah, scoring a 3rd round knockout this past September.
Inoue settled on Moloney (21-2, 18KOs), though clearly with the intention of his next one coming with more hardware at stake. Inoue won a secondary bantamweight belt with a 1st round knockout of Jamie McDonnell prior to entering the WBSS tournament, where he claimed two major belts along the way.
As for which one he wants next, the allure of fighting for the sport’s most recognized alphabet title is enough to make his choice.
“If I had to choose one, it would be the winner of Oubaali and Donaire,” Inoue insisted to BoxingScene.com. The preference comes down to the “prestige that would come with winning the WBC title. It has always meant a lot to me. I would love to face Casimero as well for his WBO title but would first prefer to fight for the prestigious WBC title.”
Oubaali (17-0, 12KOs)—who owns a win over Inoue’s younger brother Takuma—faces Donaire (40-6, 25KOs) on December 12, in attempting the third defense of the WBC title he’s held since a 12-round win over former amateur rival Rau’Shee Warren last January.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox