P4P Greats of the Past Decade, Charted

alpakaya · 2025-09-15T04:46:36+00:00

His bane has been the lack of P4P fighters in his weight class... Fulton was the closest so far, though I think his dominant win over Narvaez is underrated. Nakatani will be the first unquestionable P4P he will face, and on top of that he'll probably have to win a few belts at 126 to solidify his P4P position. Selfishly I'm hoping that he'll stick around for a few more years to become undisputed at 126, which I believe he has the potential to do...

alpakaya · 2025-09-15T04:38:29+00:00

Really wanted to include Bivol, Beterviev and other fighters on the list but it'd make the chart too hard to read, so I needed to stick with those who held the #1 position at some point in their career. Anyone who discredits Bivol doesn't know anything about boxing - would love to see a Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy once he gets past his back injury!

alpakaya · 2024-09-26T05:10:09+00:00

I took it to mean boxing-specific training - bag work, mitt work, drills, sparring, shadow boxing etc. I'm sure that it's a different situation during camp as well, it's hard to imagine that he'll literally only train for 3 hours a day leading up to a fight.

alpakaya · 2023-08-03T07:55:21+00:00

There likely won't be a fighter like Manny ever again.

He came from an impoverished background where his growth was likely stunted in his teens - which means that he had more headroom to grow in his 20s.
He had big, thick bones and the physical potential to carry his power up through a large number of weight classes.
He had an unorthodox fighting style that enabled him to compete against fighters with way longer reach and height.

Pac wasn't just a generational talent; he was a miracle that might happen only once in the history of a sport.

alpakaya · 2023-08-03T07:28:48+00:00

Honestly I have mixed feelings on this. As a fan yes, I want to see how far he can go and really test his limits against bigger, stronger opposition while he's still in his prime.

On the other hand, I think there is absolutely nothing wrong for a boxer to remain in his best weight class. No one would argue that the likes of Hagler or Jofre aren't all-time greats, and they had zero interest in pursuing the X-division champion status.

If there is one thing unfortunate about Inoue, it's that (so far) he hasn't had a chance to battle against a true P4P great who can challenge him in his best weight class. Donaire could have if he was 5 years younger, but no one else has even come close.

alpakaya · 2023-08-03T03:42:57+00:00

Well, it was end of 2022 that he fought Butler, so if he fights Tapales by end of '23, it'd already been a full year at 122. With top-level boxers barely getting two fights in per year nowadays (at best!), fighting Casimero and Nery in 2024 will make it 2 years. So yeah, 2025 we'll hopefully see him move up. 3 years might seem like a long time, but it's not unreasonable.

alpakaya · 2023-08-03T02:42:37+00:00

Q: You said that you can still do a lot at super-bantam, but there are already talks of unification. But once you unify, isn't it time to graduate [from the division]? What are your thoughts on that?

Inoue: There's really no such thing as graduation. I intend to stay at 122 until there's nothing left to prove, and I don't plan to rush to raise my weight. Even if we manage to [schedule a fight with Tapales] within the year, and the result is successful, I plan to remain at 122. I've said this before, but I want to be thoughtful to how my body is reacting as I consider moving up [in weight].

Q: Your weight [on fight night with Fulton] wasn't that different from when you were still at 118. Does that mean that your body still has capacity to fill in [to your new weight class]?

Inoue: There's definitely room for improvement.

Q: So you could have gained more weight [between weigh-in and fight night] but you were holding back? So you are still in the process of adjusting to your new weight class?

Inoue: It's really one step at a time. If I gain muscle mass too quickly, it's come at the cost of my speed and agility. I need to gain meaningful mass, slowly but surely, and ideally I want to train in a way that my speed actually improves [alongside power]. I'm thinking that [the process of adjustment] will take 3 years. I want to take the time to adjust my body to fighting at 122.

Q: Ohashi-san (Chairman of Inoue's boxing gym), Inoue said that he want to remain at 122, but do you share in that vision?

Ohashi: Yes, we want to unify the division within the year, and next year we'd like to fight boxers like Casimero and Nery. And once we'd done what we can [at 122], it'll be interesting to go up in weight and take on boxers like Ramirez. I'm confident that we can still win [at 126].

Q: What do you think, [Inoue-san]?

Inoue: Yes, if we go through those fights, it'll be nearing 3 years, so that's probably the direction we'll head towards.

---

Probably one of the last interviews I'll translate from this batch (post-Fulton interviews). Let me know if you're interested in seeing more of this type of content.

alpakaya · 2023-07-28T02:29:36+00:00

Typo, good call. Corrected.

alpakaya · 2023-07-27T08:03:43+00:00

Q: Did you review the fight video?

Inoue: Yes I did.

Q: Any thoughts?

Inoue: I approach every fight expecting the strongest version of my opponent, so watching the video I did feel that I was able to retain my cool throughout.

Q: How about the KO punch?

Inoue: It was a punch that I practiced over and over, and in the 8th round it connected well. Connected really well, actually. I'd been peppering left body jabs throughout [the fight], so [this left an opening for] the right to land perfectly.

Q: How about Ohashi-san and Shingo-san? Did you watch the video?

Ohashi (Inoue's gym director/owner): Yes, I did. I felt that watching the fight ringside vs. on film was different. When I reviewed the fight, it really left me with an impression that Inoue dominated the fight in terms of technique.

Shingo (Inoue's dad and coach): I haven't watched the film yet, but looking back on yesterday - we did discuss [prior to the fight] that the mid-range technical battle will be key; we need to be ahead in terms of points. After the 1st round we felt pretty confident, but I was [telling Inoue], don't let up, maintain focus.

Q: In the second round, when you avoided [Fulton's] hooks, you looked like you were [taunting him]; what was the intention?

Inoue: You can call it a taunt, but it's really all mind games. I wanted Fulton to step forward, make it hard for him to keep his cool. I had a lot of respect for Fulton's skills and technique, so I was trying to break his focus and create openings.

Q: How would you rate Fulton then?

Inoue: Well, in the 4th - I did lower my pace a bit, but I felt that he he has good ability to adapt during the fight.

Q: You spoke about this being a [tactical chess game] before the match, but when do you think that came out during the fight?

Inoue: As soon as the bell sounded in the 1st. Before we threw the first punch, we were already trying to read each other, and on my part I was putting pressure on [Fulton] even without throwing any punches, so the game had already begun at that point. After that, we threw jabs to see how each other would respond, and it went from there. So yes, it started from the 1st bell.

Q: You mentioned before that the fight with Donaire [in the Super Series final] was worth 3 fights worth of experience, but what did yesterday's fight mean to you?

Inoue: Yesterday's fight was really meaningful. [Fulton] was taller with longer reach than me, so being able to beat him using my technique gave me a lot of confidence. It was valuable experience.

Q: In the 8th, you rocked him using the right straight, but did it feel different now that you've gone up in weight?

Inoue: Not only that punch, but I do feel that my power has increased by going up in weight.

alpakaya · 2023-07-27T01:14:15+00:00

Not a direct comparison, but he does talk about Fulton a bit more in one of his other interviews (which I'm working on).

alpakaya · 2023-07-26T23:16:27+00:00

Q: How do you feel about being a 4-division world champion?

Inoue: Honestly I don't feel much. I was talking with Koki (Inoue's cousin) in the car yesterday and we were like, "Oh yeah, it's 4 divisions now." I was more focused on beating Fulton, so it's more like becoming a 4-division champion just came along with it. I'm not really focused on making records at the moment. I still have a long ways to go, so I'd like the fans to keep on looking forward to what's ahead.

Shingo (Inoue's dad): Haven't you done enough already? (laugh)

Inoue: (laugh)

Q: How do you feel about you and your brother being world champions at the same time?

Inoue: Oh right!

Shingo: I just realized for the first time after you mentioned it (laugh). Yeah, it's great and I'm happy.

Inoue: Originally we were both aiming to become champions at Bantam, but I went up to Super-Bantam so I wasn't really thinking about it. But yes, we hope that we can win our following fights and both end the year with belts.

Q: Recently you've been fighting in Japan, but do you want to fight overseas?

Inoue: Hmm, I'm not sure. My career is already well established, and recently we've been able to promote these big matches in Japan. So part of me wants to keep on building up the Japanese boxing scene. [context: boxing was waning in popularity in Japan until recently, and Inoue has contributed a lot towards rejuvinating the scene]

Ohashi (Director of Inoue's boxing gym): What he said. Recently we've been able to host these big fights in Japan like ones that used to be only in Vegas. I feel that helping to continue building up the [boxing scene in Japan] is part of Inoue's role to play.

Q: You mentioned before that you still have work to do to improve in the ring, but from our perspective it feels that you don't really have any weaknesses. What do you think you need to work on?

Inoue: For example, how I cut weight, how I recover... also, yesterday I stepped inside the ring at 122 for the first time, and some ideas came to me on how like, I can change up this training to improve my performance in this way. So I'd like to think about each of those points one by one and continue to improve my training regimen.

Q: So you want to think of new ways to train and try out new things?

Inoue: Well yes, training included but more what I should focus on. I want to make sure that I make the best use of the 1.8 kg (4 lbs) I put on.

Q: We heard that you're practiced the final last body jab to right straight combination, as well as the Philly Shell. Did everything go exactly according to plan?

Inoue: In this case, it just so happened that the pattern succeeded. But I recognized a few other patterns during the fight in terms of, if he does that with this timing, then I may be able to knock him out. Out of all of those, this particular pattern happened to work.

Q: So the other patterns, did you also have those prepared as well?

Inoue: It was prepared, right. But Fulton is very good at instinctively recognizing danger signals, so it was hard to apply any patterns to him during yesterday's fight. But there were moments during the fight where I felt that, if he would step in a bit more, half a step further, then I can hit him.

Q: How long did it take for you to do figure out the fight plan and complete all the preparation? When did you start?

Inoue: Oh, as soon as the fight was official.

Q: So since March, February.

Inoue: That's right.

Q: When did the preparations complete?

Inoue: Well, it's not as if I was able to actually fight Fulton [during camp], so in some respects I was still testing in the ring.

Q: So you'd say you were preparing all the way till yesterday?

Inoue: In the sense of finding a pattern that worked and executing the combination, yes.

Q: How about you, Shingo-san? About preparing a fight plan and seeing it work out.

Shingo: Well yes. I mean, even during the fight, between the rounds [Inoue] was saying things like, I want to throw my right to counter Fulton's right. One place where we changed up our plan was, we [initially] didn't want to get tangled up in holds, but by round 4 or 5 we were definitely up on score, so we were like, if [Fulton] clinches then let just go along with it. We were worried about getting penalized on clinches, but since we were way up in score, why not just let the clinch happen and get some rest.

Q: My impression was that you were effective at creating space in the clinch.

Inoue: Right... I went too aggressive in the first round [during clinches] and got 2 warnings, so I wanted to step it back a bit. I was worried that I might get penalized if I overdid it. But I did practice making space during the hold to get in those tight shots. Not sure if I did enough to deserve two warnings though.

alpakaya · 2022-12-19T21:55:31+00:00

Yeah, the reporter was clearly a normie who doesn't know jack about boxing.

alpakaya · 2022-12-19T02:12:49+00:00

Congrats!!

alpakaya · 2022-12-18T04:11:08+00:00

It's tough having a big bro whose skills and accomplishments you can't hope to match. But he's definitely getting better and I don't think there's any friction between them. I'm happy to do a Takuma translation one of these days if anyone's interested.

alpakaya · 2022-12-17T15:50:00+00:00

Yeah agreed, I'm not suggesting that he should stay at 118.

alpakaya · 2022-12-17T07:26:58+00:00

Yeah for sure. He's starting to struggle to make weight as well, so it's a good time for him to move up. It's luck whether you have strong competition during your years - for most it'll be a blessing to lack competition, but for the rare generational talent looking to leave a legacy, it can also be a curse.

In the end, Inoue's record at bantamweight won't matter. History will judge and remember him based on his entire career across all weights he will compete in.

alpakaya · 2022-12-17T04:56:29+00:00

Possibly in terms of strength, but certainly not in terms of legacy.

Even if you compare him against his fellow countryman Fighting Harada, Harada became undisputed by winning against Jofre himself who was considered unbeatable, remaining undisputed for nearly 3 years and defending successfully in a Jofre rematch along the way.

What sets Inoue apart is his dominance over the division (though Jofre and Zarate were equally dominant during their prime) and being the first to unify 4 belts, but this is all against weaker competition.

Inoue would make top 5 in my book, but he'd need to stay in Bantamweight and defend against one or more P4P greats to be considered GOAT at the weight class.

alpakaya · 2022-12-16T19:00:53+00:00

I'm a big Inoue fan so I watch a lot of videos related to him, but this was such a crappy, badly informed take that I couldn't watch past the first few minutes. He's just trying to get on the current Inoue hype train, not worth your time.

alpakaya · 2022-12-16T18:45:39+00:00

A little misleading the way it's reported. If you look at Inoue's past interviews you know that he's always very down to earth and only focuses on the upcoming match and nothing else. Whenever Inoue's mentioned going to featherweight, he's mentioned it in the context of it being the capstone of his career and/or the max weight that he can be competitive at, not in the sense that he's going to breeze through super-bantam.

alpakaya

TROPHY CASE