Inoue Solidifies Spot As
Boxing’s Pound4Pound Best
By William Trillo
Photos: Naoki Fukada
Naoya Inoue’s (23-0, 20 KO’s) second-round stoppage over Nonito Donaire (42-7, 28 KO’s) should leave no doubts as to who is the current “King of the Hill” on the always subjective Pound4Pound list. As we all know by now, “Monster” decimated “The Filipino Flash” in just under a round and a half of work. It was a surgical and convincing performance.
Inoue easily walked straight through Donaire’s early artillery fire and then in the blink of an eye a laser like right hand to the temple put Donaire to the canvas as Round One ended.
Not wanting to let Donaire get his faculties in order, Inoue kept up the brutal attack in round two. Sharp blows had Donaire on rubber legs, yet somehow the rugged warrior was able to survive…for a moment. Proving he is a finisher Inoue pounded Donaire into the ropes. That is when a crippling left hook sent Donaire down for the final time.
If there were any questions left over from their first bout, this KO performance from Inoue should answer them loudly and clearly.
As far as the Pound4Pound question goes, well of course there will always be personal tastes and opinions. But at the end of the day, I firmly believe that in this moment in time, Naoya Inoue stands alone atop the hill of boxing’s elite.
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