Not a big follower of the.smaller weights, but for those who are, how good is Inoue opposition? Who is the better fighter he beat that was.in his prime ?
He just went through the motions today. The guy he was in with today wasn't the man in his own house. He was a complete bum. As a rule, he's had decent but but great opposition. Kono, Narvaez, and Donaire are his best wins, and he had decent wins over McDonnell and Rodriguez while they were at the top, too. He beat a green Taguchi who's a top light fly at the minute. Casimero is the only prime fighter at BW who he should really feel obligated to face.
That's how i see it (and again, as i said, im far from an expert on the lower weights). He's a tremendous talent, but seems like he doesn't have a big win that can catapult him to atg status
Inoue shot himself in the foot in avoiding Chocolatito, Estrada, Ioka and Rungvisai IMO. Both in terms of his bank balance and his legacy. During various points in 2016/2017, fights with Estrada, Gonzalez and Rungvisai could've been massively promoted on HBO or on huge undercards. Nothing got in the way of making these fights bar Inoue himself, and it's not like he didn't spend a decent amount of time at 115. Had he beaten the three of these - which I firmly believe he would have - then an undisputed fight with Ioka which would've been collosal in Japan. Not to mention having wins over those four would likely catapult him from a potentially menace head-to-head at 115, to pretty much undisputed GOAT. Inoue's introduction to pseudo-casuals here in the UK was when Sky showed his fight with McDonnell. It was the start of WBSS, and lots of people here who didn't really know who he was and most backed McDonnell to win out if familiarity. When I told my dad and godfather that Inoue's gonna smash him they laughed at me and when he did it was brilliant Inoue would have had a far bigger platform going into that one, if he'd have been more active when HBO were promoting the super-flyweight rivalries. That'd naturally transfer over to a bigger push in America and would likely make him a bigger star in Japan, as well. He's the closest thing we've had to a star in the lower weights for a long time. I think his run at 115 shows he's pretty happy not taking serious fights and making easy money, so I'm not expecting this run of shite to come to end this year.
I think Inoue is a great fighter, but as George laid out, it looks like we'll never find out how great he is based on his lack of comp. He'll never have that defining win at the lower weights over an A class fighter in their prime, like Zarate has over Zamora, like Olivares has over Rose, and like Gomez has over Zarate. What's strange is, he totally avoids any criticism, while Crawford is the most criticized guy in the sport. Bud has avoided less challenges than Inoue. Inoue's lack of comp means that he'll max out at the "great" level. He'll never go down in the "all time great" category.
Also, based on what happened when they fought, it does appear that a prime version of Donaire would have stopped Inoue.
I think the Donaire Inoue beat would still beat a guy like Zamora, but I agree it's pretty disappointing a guy like Donaire or Narvaez at such advanced ages are his best wins and - even with a win over Casimero under his belt - will remain to be. I was gonna refute your comment about Crawford, saying the Donaire Inoue beat is still a better win than any of Crawford's, but I think it's important to remember that nobody expected Donaire to fight that well. Well, nobody besides @Tin_Ribs. Donaire was an old man, who'd lost to everybody of note who he'd fougut for years. I think it's another example of Inoue taking what he saw as an easy fight, and Donaire showed him he was wrong - similar to Wilder-Fury I - so while I do think that win is better than any of Crawford's, it's hard to argue for a second that Inoue is more comfortable taking on challenges.
Agreed, although I do think Donaire's aged very well and his previous losses have more to do with his weight than the quality of his opponent or his own decline.
Yes, I agree that even faded Donaire is better than a Postol or Porter, yes. But it seems Bud at least has the desire to test himself more. Inoue seems very content on the path he's on.
