Antonio Tarver says it’s disrespectful to Terence Crawford for fans and the media to compare Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue to what he’s done during his career.
Tarver believes that the former four-division world champion and two-division undisputed champ Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) doesn’t have the body of work on his resume for him to be at the level of two-time undisputed champ Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs).
Questioning Inoue’s Visibility
Some fans feel that the 30-year-old Inoue is a better fighter than Crawford because of the way the Japanese star has dominated at 108, 112, 115, 118, and 122.
Tarver doesn’t agree. He notes that Monster Inoue has been operating under the radar for most of his career, fighting obscure opposition that casual boxing has never heard of.
The one guy they have heard of gave Inoue massive problems, Nonito Donaire, who came close to beating him in their first fight at age 38.
Fans who saw that fight believe that Donaire would have destroyed Inoue if he’d been in his prime, and that’s a logical assumption. A prime Donaire would have been too powerful and rugged for Inoue, who was breaking apart in their first fight.
“I don’t think it’s even a discussion. When you look at the body of work that Terence Crawford has done, people forget that he moved up a couple of weights,” said Antonio Tarver on his channel.
“The name brand fighters on his resume compared to Inoue’s now. I’m not taking anything away from Inoue. I think he’s one of the top fighters, but at those lower weights, they just don’t have enough key players.
“I’m not saying those guys can’t fight, but they just don’t have the visibility like all the great fighters that Terence Crawford has faced over the years.
It’s blatantly obvious that Inoue’s resume is paper thin, with the only two quality fighters on his 26-fight career record being an old Nonito Donaire and Emanuel Rodriguez. Everyone else has been guys with pumped-up records, who would have fallen apart against a talent like Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
Inoue’s name opponents:
– Nonito Donaire x 2
– Marlon Tapales
– Jason Moloney
– Emanuel Rodriguez
– Stephen Fulton
– Jamie McDonnell
– Paul Butler
– David Carmona
– Juan Carlos Payano
– Adrian Hernandez
– Omar Narvaez
– Ryoichi Taguchi
“Each time you break one of these fighter’s records down, you have to look at their level of competition. That’s in every pound-for-pound discussion and category. Who have you beat? Those names that are on Inoue’s resume.
Olympic Pedigree and Visibility
“Even though these guys might be talented fighters, some of the best, but these aren’t the guys that have gone to the Olympics, have been caught after, and have had the eyes on them for years if you look at some of the fighters that Crawford has beaten on that big stage.”
Crawford has beaten the killers during his career, destroying these well-known fighters:
– Errol Spence Jr.
– Shawn Porter
– Jeff Horn
– Kell Brook
– Amir Khan
– David Avanesyan
– Jose Benavidez Jr.
– Egidijus Kavaliauskas
When you look at Inoue’s barren resume, it’s empty of life, filled with lesser opposition; guys would be food for any of the top talents.
“Inoue is now coming along, and he’s 30 years old, and the fact is he’s been champion for over ten years,” said Tarver. “Where has he been? He’s been fighting off the radar in his country, but he hasn’t been in the boxing eyes.
“Unless you’re a true boxing fan or in the boxing business to have known about an Inoue for the duration of those ten years. But now, in the last few years, we’ve been hearing a lot about Inoue. From the looks of it, his skill and talent level definitely meet the optics.”
Only hardcore boxing fans have heard of Naoya Inoue in the U.S., and many of them don’t take a lot of interest in his fights because he rarely fights notable opposition and he’s always competing in Japan.
“But in order for him to get those super fights where we’re paying pay-per-view to see Inoue, we’re going to have to see who the B-side is. It’s always who you fight. A-side, B-side, and two great fighters coming together always make for a greater showdown,” said Tarver.
“So even though Inoue is collecting belts, he’s done that, he’s the undisputed champion. He’s done it in a little over a year. So that in itself tells you that even though he’s collecting belts, he’s not facing top-notch opposition. That has to be echoed.
“I think it’s disrespectful when you look at how hard Terence Crawford fought his backside off to get to that top spot, and now he can’t even get comfortable.
“They’re trying to compare. It’s that machine working heavily, and they want to minimize some of the things that Crawford has done and accomplished. This really screws with his bottom line. This man wants to hold that crown and say, ‘I’m the pound-for-pound king of boxing.
“That recognition shouldn’t be shared. When he gets to that negotiating table, he’s supposed to have that stamp on it,” said Tarver.
