'Bruce Lee Of Japan' Wants To Be GOAT, Set For Big Title Fight

A world boxing champ being dubbed as “Japanese Bruce Lee” wants to be the greatest boxer of all time and is set to face the biggest challenge of his career.

Naoya Inoue is the curreny bantamweight WBA super champion and IBF champion. Considered as one of the best boxers in Japan today, Inoue boasts a 19-win pro record, including 16 wins coming by way of knockout.

Inoue first gained popularity after beating Filipino boxing star Nonito Donaire in an action-packed 12 round bout. Donaire thumped Inoue with punches so hard he had double-vision from round 2 onwards. The Japanese boxer was forced to continue fighting with a bloody nose, and a horrible gash on his eyelid. But Inoue overcame it all to put Donaire on the floor in the 11th, before winning a unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards.

The Inoue-Donaire fight was even voted “2019 Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America, making Inoue a “superstar” in the making, Japan Times reported.

Arguably, Inoue is already the third-best boxer in the world, pound-for-pound after winning world titles in the pros in three weight classes and almost never fails to put on a show everytime he steps inside the ring.

Due to the fact that Inoue is currently signed with a relatively-unknown sports app DAZN, he hasn’t reached the limelight yet. However, with the help of social media, highlight reels on YouTube, a slow-mo GIF showing off his power, the 26-year-old boxer is now starting to make a name for himself. In fact, a compilation of his highlights recently surfaced online tagging him as “Japan Bruce Lee.”

Prior to his title fight against Donaire, Inoue reflected on his awesome career and stated that he didn’t only want to beat the boxing star but also wanted to be the “greatest of all time,” RingNews24 reported.

“A year ago this tournament started, a year later I am in the final against Nonito Donaire, and I am very grateful for that,” Inoue said.

“I would like to be victorious, but I’m not stopping there. In the future, I want to be the greatest of all time!,” Inoue added.

Inoue will fight for the first time since winning the bantamweight final of the World Boxing Super Series in November. The “Japanese Bruce Lee” is set to face another Filipino boxing sensation WBO title holder John Riel Casimero on April 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.