It sure seems crazy to a whole lot of people, but there does seem to be some quite serious talk of a fight taking place one day between Naoya Inoue and Gervonta Davis – this despite the fact that they are many pounds apart: to the tune of three weight division’s worth. Stephen Espinoza raised some eyebrows shortly after Inoue’s commanding win over Stephen Fulton, this “The Monster’s” debut as a 122 pounder.
“It’s only 13 pounds,” Espinoza said of a Monster Vs. Tank showdown, Davis campaigning at 135 pounds (Tank having won a belt as high as 140) and Inoue at 122. Espinoza added how the very idea of this fight is “crazy,” but the Showtime boss said he would love to see the fight take place one day. And now you can add Floyd Mayweather’s name to the seemingly growing list.
Speaking this week with Fight Hype, “Money” laid down a challenge to the Japanese superstar: come to the US and box Tank at a catch-weight.
“What I need Inoue to do is do like we do in the U.S,” Mayweather said to his favourite website. “I need him to come fight in the USA, random blood and urine testing. I think [Inoue] is a helluva fighter, helluva fighter. I won’t take nothing away from him. And I like him….but what I would like to see is if he could fight Gervonta at a catch-weight. That’d be a helluva fight.”
Would it though? Inoue, who has already captured world titles at four weights, has just had his 122 pound debut and, by his own admission, Inoue needs time to allow his body to sufficiently adapt and settle in at the new weight. Now, Mayweather and others are asking Inoue to move up again, to as high as around the lightweight limit (Floyd didn’t specify any actual catch-weight poundage he has in mind for Inoue Vs. Tank).
It seems unfair, it seems people are just asking too much of Inoue. Think back, has any other fighter of recent times been asked to make a three-weight jump to fight a big fight, this just days after he had already moved up to a higher weight division? Heck, some people wondered if Inoue would be able to carry his speed and power up with him to 122. The fact that he did so does not mean Inoue now needs to go up again – past featherweight, past super-featherweight, to somewhere close to lightweight!
And why would/should Inoue come to America to fight? Inoue is showing the world his greatness, he just happens to be doing so while boxing at home. Nobody is suggesting Inoue would have any problems accepting random blood and urine testing, I hope.
What do YOU guys think – is an Inoue Vs. Tank fight at all possible?
