This week, Saudi Arabian billionaire and renowned contractor Turki Alalshh said he plans to invite 122-pound bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue to London, England, in September to give former world champion Anthony Joshua a cushion match.
Last month, Alashh announced that he would be involved in running Joshua's match in the UK on September 21 or 22, with opponents to be determined. Now, Alalshh wants Inoue Naoya to join them, and if that happens, it will definitely attract a lot of attention.
In recent years, Alashkh has repeatedly demonstrated his generosity in running boxing tournaments, and has won high recognition both inside and outside the industry. Not to mention, the WBA super welterweight championship match in Los Angeles on August 3 - Terence Crawford vs Islam Madramov battle can be called the first shot of the "General Administration of Sports and Entertainment" of Alalashh to the world, that is, it is not limited to holding a major tournament in Saudi Arabia. Alarshkh knew that the battle between Crawford and Madrid Mov was not enough to attract the audience, so he brought in many famous players such as Andy Ruiz Jr., Isaac Cruz, Tim Tszyu, Virgil Ortiz Jr., David Morrell and many other famous players to join, which immediately aroused people's interest.
The same can be said for the September tournament, where Aralshkh plans to build on Joshua's competition and bring in big names again, so it comes to Inoue, which has to be amazing.
Alar Shikh did not reveal who Inoue's opponent in the UK in September was, but some analysts believe that it may be Liam Davies (16-0, 8KOs) from the home field, who is the European, IBO super bantamweight champion and is qualified to challenge Inoue, not to mention that if Inoue lands in the UK, the opponent needs to be British, so as to cause a local sensation.
Alar Shikh invited Inoue Naoya to come, money is the point, I believe that as long as the offer is attractive enough, Inoue Naoya will consider it. The media believes that if Inoue wants to truly become the second Manny Pacquiao, he should go overseas to make an appearance. So far, Inoue Naoya has only played 3 matches outside of Japan, which seems to be far from enough, it depends on how the Inoue team thinks about this issue?
Virgil Hunter, the famous coach who has single-handedly built 2 divisional boxing champion Andy Ward, bluntly said that Inoue needs to make more appearances in the United States, and even thinks that if Inoue has the courage, he can increase his weight to challenge Gwota Davis "The Tank".
"Inoue needs to play in the United States, and the best shortcut for him to become a superstar is to upgrade to challenge Davis, and the fight can only be played in the United States, because Davis is more of an A-corner, and if Inoue wants to fight, come here," Hunter said. ”
Davis is currently in the 135-pound lightweight class and is a regular WBA champion, three divisions behind the 122-pound Inoue, but in Hunter's opinion, Inoue has no problem completing the upgrade, and he stressed that given Davis' A-corner status, he doesn't have to lose weight to meet Inoue.
"Davis shouldn't be below 135 pounds, I'm sure Inoue can get to that level, he needs to step up like everyone else, like Guillermo Rigundo upgraded to challenge Vasily Lomachenko, there was no bargaining, just daring to take the chance, even if Rigondo lost, he got his chance, and Jimmel Charlo, who upgraded from 154 pounds to challenge 168-pound Carneiro Alvarez, I'm sure Inoue can do the same, he can comfortably carry the weight," Hunter said. ”