Japanese pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue controls the fight against David Picasso from the outset and raises expectations of a possible mega-duel with Junto Nakatani.
Naoya Inoue produced a masterful performance to defend his undisputed world super bantamweight title with a clear unanimous points decision against David Picasso. The Japanese pound-for-pound star controlled the fight from the first to the last round and left no doubt about the outcome of the duel in the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The unbeaten champion Inoue (31-0, 27 knockouts) dictated the pace, distance and rhythm with a precise jab, excellent footwork and razor-sharp combinations. Picasso had little chance against the clean offense and defensive discipline of the defending champion. The judges clearly scored the fight 119-109, 120-108 and 117-111 – the DAZN commentary team also clearly saw the fight as 120-108 for Inoue. Picasso (32-1-1, 17 knockouts) suffered his first defeat as a professional.
Despite the almost flawless performance, Inoue was self-critical afterwards. “I’m really tired,” he said in the DAZN interview. “I’m going to rest first. I’ll be even better next time.” A statement that sounds almost frightening given his dominance in the ring.
Inoue once again impressed with his ring intelligence, timing and efficiency. He chose his punches carefully, varied heights and angles and systematically took the courage out of Picasso. It was not a knockout show, but a world-class boxing lesson that underlined his status as one of the most complete fighters of our time.
After the fight, attention quickly turned to a possible all-Japanese mega-duel with Junto Nakatani, who won the co-main event but was less convincing. “We both had a good win today,” said Inoue. “For next year, we will decide what to do. But for the Japanese fans, you can expect something very special.”