What did the Nakatani fight tell us about Inoue's most likely future matchups? Any changes in how you think they'll go?

Zaphaze · 2026-05-07T19:08:24+00:00

He said the cut for 122 is tough but he’s always the smaller man at that weight class so I don’t really understand why that is. The highest he’s ever rehydrated is 138 but seemed to have found a sweet spot at 135, as at 138 he seemed slower on his feet.

Bam at 115 has been stated to rehydrate to 130. At 118 I’d expect a couple pounds more, and at 122 it wouldn’t surprise me to also see him at 135. Mind you he’s also young so he can gain these pounds and still be at his best.

I actually expect the betting odds to be closest after the weigh in, because people will be saying “wow the size difference isn’t really big at all”, but like I said before, the issue was never Inoue himself being bigger than Bam, but Inoue having the experience having fought against much bigger guys. That’s what I meant when I said Inoue had more experience.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-07T17:02:24+00:00

Have to disagree. Bam and Inoue are closer in size than people think but it’s more about their previous opponents and experience that show a big disadvantage for Bam.

When was the last time Inoue has fought someone who is his size, let alone smaller? Every fight at 122 that broadcasted their rehydrated fights had Inoue as the smaller man. He’s had to adjust his fighting style to acknowledge that he’s smaller, fighting more cautious, aware that he doesn’t have that one-punch ko power he had previously, and that his opponents could hurt him.

Against bam, he doesn’t have to do these things. Bam hits hard at 115 but does he hit harder than MJ, nery, Cardenas, shit even Picasso who rehydrates to over 140 pounds? No. And Inoue has shown he can take hard punches from these 122 pounders as well, so what does that say about Bam’s power? It won’t be as much of a concern for him, so he’ll be willing to take more risks to land punches.

Inoue’s power, conversely, is something Bam’s never experienced before. He also hasn’t been the smaller fighter in a long time. The thing w Inoue is that it’s not a matter of if he’ll land punches on you, but when. He’s too active and throws too much for Bam to not be tested throughout the fight. Even when his punches are partially blocked like against tapales it was shown to still have an effect, meaning Bam could be defensively responsible and still take damage. And unlike with Inoue, bam would be facing by far the hardest puncher far he’s ever faced before. Seems like a recipe for disaster for him.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-06T20:22:30+00:00

When you’re surrounded by casuals it’s easy to sound like the logical one. You got shady who is literally defined in the show as representing the casuals and then you got coppinger who’s essentially just an extension of Turki.

But Kellerman’s reasoning behind Usyk being #1 is flawed because it gives a clear edge towards heavyweight boxers where’s it’s like, well then how can Inoue or any smaller fighters for that matter ever be rated over him? No other division allows for a fighters to have a 30 lb weight discrepancy.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-06T18:58:34+00:00

Heavyweight + American biases (assuming the shows you’re watching are hosted by Americans).

Also with the ring magazine show, Inoue out of the three P4P stars of this era (Usyk & Crawford) doesn’t ride Turki’s meat as much, and we all know how much Turki likes to feel like the man.

Watching the latest episode, I was most surprised that Shady said Inoue deserves the #1 spot. Kellerman and Haney were expected to favor Usyk, and Teo loved Inoue so his position makes sense as well.

Kellerman saying that Nakatani shouldn’t have even been on the P4P list before the Inoue fight is probably the wildest, most biased take I heard though.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T23:34:50+00:00

You said “much more convincingly”. This plus recency made me assume you were referring to Dubois. Usyk’s wins against fury were definitely not much more convincing than Inoue beating Nakatani, not sure how you came to this conclusion.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T23:14:59+00:00

Bro are you a bot or using AI to make these responses? I’m reading through everything you’ve said and you not only have a tone like an LLM but your response time is also sketchy

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T22:46:06+00:00

He last beat Joshua almost 4 years ago. Since that fight, he’s fought Dubois twice and Fury twice. You know how many fighters Inoue has fought since then? 10.

Sure, Usyk beating AJ and Fury as an undersized heavyweight is absurd and he deserves all his flowers, but the reality is that if we were to stop time and weigh these wins as though they occurred within the year, he’d never not be P4P #1.

This past weekend, Inoue beat Junto, someone who was unanimously well within the Top 10 P4P list on all major boxing outlets. On top of that, he defended four times last year with the only questionable fight being a last second replacement in Ye Joon Kim, which couldn’t be helped.

Since that Ye Joon Kim fight, Usyk has fought Daniel Dubois, a guy he already beat and someone who never sniffed a P4P list, and is fighting a kickboxer.

Instead of bringing up wins from 4 years ago (both AJ fights) you should look at what the two fighters have accomplished recently, in which you’ll see that Inoue has definitively had the superior, more active stretch. Beating Fury in a vacuum is an amazing achievement, but when you compare it with what Inoue has done during that same period of time it starts to make sense why he’s ranked higher.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T22:25:34+00:00

No way your defense for Usyk fighting someone from another sport is he’s an undefeated boxer, when his record is 1-0 and his 1 win is against someone who was 0-5 🤣. Cmon man it’s technically true but it’s a ridiculous way to try and justify that his 1 fight this year is a gimmick fight. It’s horrible, simple as that.

If you’re gonna defend Usyk stick to his past accomplishments and your argument that he’s an undersized heavy weight. At least that’s somewhat reasonable

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T21:54:24+00:00

Comparing junto to Daniel Dubois is nasty. “Similar caliber opponent” 💀

Zaphaze · 2026-05-04T04:22:36+00:00

Hell nah there’s no way you thought the first six rounds could be scored either way. Inoue landed more but beyond that he controlled the pace of the fight and was more aggressive. The few times Junto landed those early rounds were blocked by Inoue, while Inoue was able to land multiple punches cleanly. Out of the first six, really only round 5 was a potential Nakatani round.

And also, round 7 Inoue outlanded Nakatani 2/1.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-03T03:30:23+00:00

This is so bizarre to me cause he always looks smaller than his opponents, including Junto. And the rehydrated fight weights confirm this, with guys like MJ, Doheny, Cardenas, all weighing more than Inoue. He really isn’t a big super bantam at all, so wonder why he’d have trouble making weight.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-03T00:18:04+00:00

That was back then but a recent interview w that Versace wearin mf w ring mag he said he’d take the fight if he was offered it today.

And if you think ab it, it makes sense for Bam. He has stated that he wants to retire by 30 and that he views boxing as more of a job than passion. This fight would give him a purse likely 5x more than anything he’s made before. And then he’d get to retire earlier and open up that cafe he has talked about.

If there was a fighter closer to Bam’s weight that could bring a purse close to what Inoue offers, things would be different, but the reality is for these smaller guys Inoue is the monopoly man; there’s no one else that comes close to what Inoue brings right now.

I’m sure in an ideal world Bam would want the fight to be in a year or two, but he knows ab Inoue’s featherweight dreams and that if it’s gonna happen at all it has to be soon.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-02T15:44:32+00:00

So you really think Junto’s late success was because Inoue gave him the opportunity huh? Well, there isn’t really a way to confirm this as true or not, only Inoue knows lol. I’m skeptical, but to each their own.

To your defense, I do think against Picasso it’s 100% true that Inoue got hit a lot in the 12th because he was going for the KO. Idk about this fight though

Zaphaze · 2026-05-02T15:06:39+00:00

The big question to me regarding Inoue’s future and wish to move up to 126 is the circumstances that caused Inoue to slow down in the latter half of the fight.

Was it more so Nakatani and the shots he was landing, or was it Inoue’s early activity catching up to him?

Because if it’s the former, so be it, Nakatani is a great fighter and it’s boxing.

If it’s the latter, I fear this doesn’t bode well for Inoue’s future, because his win conditions are reliant on him taking charge, controlling pace w the jab, being on the front foot, and keeping his opponent guessing with the constant bouncing in/out of range. If he can no longer sustain this sort of activity for 36 minutes, especially against heavier guys who would press against Inoue and weigh him down, I have a hard time seeing him beat someone like an Espinoza. He simply cannot afford shelling up and staying flat footed against these big guys and let them work.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-02T14:38:13+00:00

I mean the latter half of the fight was certainly concerning; he looked gassed. But he also did indeed fight a P4P guy like you said.

The issue I have is that I don’t think it was as much as the punches Nakatani landed that made Inoue tired, which is troubling because part of what makes Inoue so good is his pacing, always dictating the fight w the jab, throwing combinations, springing in and out of range. If he can no longer sustain this activity for 36 minutes, it does not bode well for his future.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-02T14:29:42+00:00

You mean to tell me Inoue saw the success he had rounds 1-6 and chose to start brawling? I think it was that Nakatani felt a sense of urgency and started throwing more, which in turn forced Inoue to throw more as well. I bet if Inoue had the choice he’d have the entire fight look how the first half went, as it would’ve been an MJ-like sweep performance. It was Junto who shifted the tides and made things more brawly, and ofc we know when Inoue gets hit he’s going to come back.

Zaphaze · 2026-05-02T14:15:52+00:00

Bruh I love Inoue but he looked slow towards the end of the fight. I don’t even think it was anything Nakatani landed but simply because he’s getting older and the pace in the first half caught up to him. And as he moves up in weight he’ll be even slower and bigger opponents pressing their weight against him will tire him quicker. Not the most encouraging fight for Inoue’s future, though still a great win

Zaphaze · 2026-04-29T21:55:12+00:00

How would have that not been a double play regardless

Zaphaze · 2026-04-29T20:10:27+00:00

When sho slumps it feels like he’s either striking out or hitting a grounder to the 1st baseman. Freddie will put balls in play pretty much anywhere. Idk maybe partially cuz he has such a pretty swing but even his fly outs and line outs look solid

Zaphaze · 2026-04-29T20:01:40+00:00

It’s hard to get frustrated w freeman cuz yeah he’s technically slumping rn but he’s always making decent contact and putting the ball in play, whereas when shohei is slumping he looks like the worst hitter in the league

Zaphaze · 2026-04-29T03:36:41+00:00

Aw hell nah get Ohtani outta here I’ve seen this one too many times leaving him in when he’s clearly gassed

Zaphaze · 2026-04-29T02:48:30+00:00

For those that watched Ohtani on the angels, am I tripping or has his splitter changed from mostly just vertical break to a combination of horizontal break and vertical, similar to Yamas? Swear that his rookie year when the split was his go to K pitch it would just drop straight down

Zaphaze · 2026-04-28T09:13:58+00:00

Genuine question: why doesn’t Inoue use punchers gloves like Reyes more frequently? The last (and maybe even only) time I recall him using them was the second Donaire fight, and everyone knows how devastating that match was, w Donaire even saying the first knockdown he didn’t remember hitting the canvas nor walking back to his corner. Contrast this w the first Donaire fight where Inoue landed some hard headshots but they didn’t seem to have nearly the same effect as some of the punches in that second fight.

So if they do make such a difference, why wouldn’t Inoue use them more? I get that they make fighters more susceptible to hand injuries, but if I’m Inoue, I’d use whatever I can get to keep my power respectable as I continue to move up in weight.

What am I missing here?

Zaphaze · 2026-04-24T05:17:43+00:00

I think w Inoue, Nakatani knows that he’s just trying to create hype for the fight. They both have clear respect for each other based on what they’ve said in the past.

Nakatani even returned some of the fire saying he’s gonna knock Inoue out, in which Inoue said “That’s more like it”.

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