Naoya Inoue has little to say. He isn't looking for fame. He's not out to market himself. He's just content to do his job, head home and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
But Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champion, has by just 31 years old established himself as one of the greatest boxers in Japan's history and one of the greatest fighters of his era, period. He's No. 2 on the KevinIole.com pound-for-pound list, and he could easily be No. 1. He's 26-0 with 23 knockouts and has been a world champion for a decade, since he was 21 and competing in his sixth professional fight.
He's usually not mentioned as one of the sport's big draws, but that's only because he doesn't fight regularly in the U.S. His fights occur at odd hours for U.S. television. He'll defend his belts on Monday at the Tokyo Dome against Luis Nery, with his ring walk expected to start at 7:35 a.m. ET/4:35 a.m. People are either just heading to work or still in bed in the U.S. when Inoue is doing his thing.
But he's become a massive star in Japan and his gate at the Tokyo Dome is expected to exceed $20 million U.S.
"This is as big as anything ever at the Tokyo Dome, including [Mike] Tyson fights," Top Rank president Todd duBoef said.
Inoue being compared to Tyson is a shock to some, but it shouldn't be. He's to the sub-featherweight divisions now that Tyson was to the heavyweights in the mid-to-late 1980s: A dangerous puncher and finisher who is an incredible combination of speed, power and intensity.
Nery is 35-1 with 27 KOs, his only loss a KO at the hands of Brandon Figueroa in a super bantamweight unification bout on May 15, 2021. He's among the best in the world, and is a two-division champion, yet Inoue is a -1400 favorite. The over-under is just 6.5 rounds.
It's almost laughable how low-key Inoue is. He assiduously avoids interviews but doesn't offer much even when he's speaking at public events. At the final news conference, Inoue said simply, "The time has come. I'm sure it's going to be an excellent fight."
Muhammad Ali, he's not, at least not in terms of his gift of gab.
But when he's between those ropes, there's few better. Tyson remains a huge figure even now, more than a quarter century since his prime, and remains massive in Japan. But for those who know to speak of Tyson and Inoue in the same sentence is indicative of how big Inoue, known as 'The Monster,' truly is.
"This is, I think, the greatest, most important boxing event in the history of Japan," Top Rank founder Bob Arum said. "After so many years since Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas fought at the Tokyo Dome, boxing is back at that famous, huge stadium in Tokyo for this event."
The pressure on Inoue is intense. Boxing is huge in Japan and Inoue is the face of the sport there. He's Michael Jordan in his home country and it's big news whenever he's spied in public.
A decision over Nery would be viewed as a disappointment. He's not only expected to win against some of the best boxers in the world, it's not acceptable if he doesn't win by dramatic and vicious KO. Imagine if Chiefs fans wouldn't be happy if Patrick Mahomes quarterbacked the team to the next Super Bowl title if he didn't also throw for 750 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.
That, though, is the expectation at home for Inoue, and it's the kind of pressure he faces, and performs in spite of.
"'Monster' Inoue is now a legend in the sport of boxing," Arum said. "He is recognized in the sport, all over the world, as pound-for-pound the No. 1 fighter. And so boxing fans, not only here in Japan, but all over the world, will be watching this event to see 'The Monster' perform because he is always Mr. Excitement."
If you consider yourself even a casual boxing fan, you owe it to yourself to watch this guy, even if that means rubbing the sleep from your eyes and getting up before the crack of dawn. Believe me, he's worth it.