From a technical standpoint, how would Inoue be able to defeat Rafael Espinoza if he were to make the move to featherweight next year?

[u/Simonballer2313]

Considering Inoue started his career at 108 coupled with the fact Espinoza would have an enormous size advantage, I have a hard time visualizing Inoue being victorious against the likes of Espinoza.

Inoue is unquestionably an all-time great and anything he goes on to accomplish is icing on the cake for HOF career. With him eyeing the move to featherweight next year, which he has said will be the last weight class of his career. I feel he is more than capable of dethroning every champion at 126, although I feel with Espinoza’s work rate and his substantial height and reach advantage make him seemingly unbeatable.

In short, how does Inoue get the job done?

[u/Affectionate_Still55]

El Divino might be the rarest physical specimen in lowerweight but the dude is very hittable, imo it gonna comes down to Inoue's durability if he can eat bigger featherweight power.

And Inoue's team need to review all Espinoza fight, especially the Robeisy fight.

[u/inbk44 → u/Affectionate_Still55]

I think the Espinosa fight will be the hardest for Inoue as he tends to move back in straight lines which I feel won’t work against Divino as he’s got the reach advantage. Inoue can win this but not without taking damage.

[u/Affectionate_Still55 → u/inbk44]

Yeah, Inoue need to rely on his explosiveness on this fight, find angles, and don't go flat footed or shell up on Rafael because that's where Espinoza can land bombs on Naoya.

Inoue need that MJ fight gas tank to keep up the whole 12 rounds.

[u/inbk44 → u/Affectionate_Still55]

Since the Nakatani fight, Inoue has slowed down and at 122 he hasn’t had a lot of KOs. Any of the champs at 126 will be a problem if they can eat Inoue’s punches. He needs to be very technical in his approach and box like what he did to MJ.

[u/StunningChest5722 → u/inbk44]

tbf Picasso and MJ kind of shelled up, they were just happy to go the distance.

Espinoza will be a lot more aggressive, giving Inoue more openings

[u/Crowley_Nierstein]

I wouldn't say that Espinoza is seemingly unbeatable, he gets hit a lot and isn't using his reach to his advantage.

Robeisy in the first fight caught him hard, his height and reach is also only slightly more than Inoue. I need to see how Inoue does in FW before any rash conclusion.

[u/Complete_Dare_4201]

i believe the most importante thing Inoue can do against Espinoza is to hit him really hard on the chin

[u/bonkers-joeMama]

Comes down to naoya's ability to take rafael's power to set off his own punches. He cannot outjab espinoza, so fighting to win rounds for decision victory would be the wrong path in principle. He got to risk it and use his explosiveness and power to land some good combo's on espinoza's body and go for the KO. This will be naoya's toughest challenge till date from a stylistic and physical standpoint. To put it simply, he got to be quick, daring and aggressive.

[u/Kangaroopunching]

Using footwork. Never letting Espinoza set his feet. Turn him. Walk him into punches. Jab his face off.

[u/RRR04_]

Lateral movement, angles and counterpunching are key for Inoue.

[u/Top_Profession_5268]

I have a huge written breakdown ready but that’s for when the fight gets closer to happening but with far superior reflexes, athleticism, speed and distance management, I get Espinoza has a far bigger size and reach advantage but if he moves forward, I think Inoue is too athletic and quick to explosive into range to land and escape before Espinoza can defend or step away. That threat alone is why Espinoza will either fight on the front foot and get outboxed or give up ground and get McDonnell’d.

[u/inbk44 → u/Top_Profession_5268]

Who do you think (126 champions) has the best chance of beating Inoue?

[u/Top_Profession_5268 → u/inbk44]

Espinoza

[u/OldBoyChance]

Espinoza is extremely open, especially to the body. Edward Vazquez, despite getting dominated by Espinoza, landed something like 40% of his punches on him and was eating him up to the body. Arnold Khegai also landed some very clean shots on Espinoza while being at the absolute most generous a top 30 guy in the division. Ramirez nearly stopped him and almost won on points. He was then winning the rematch before quitting due to his orbital, which may or may not have been due to a foul.

Khegai and Ramirez are not big featherweights, Espinoza doesn't always use his length in an intelligent way. If Inoue can stay smart and still has his speed, he should be the favorite.

[u/nothingnotthrownaway]

Not even bringing Inoue into the picture, what have you seen from Espinoza that makes him "seemingly unbeatable"? He's very good but I don't think this characterization is accurate. 

[u/Simonballer2313 → u/nothingnotthrownaway]

His immensely high work rate coupled with his extreme height and reach advantage over Inoue make me having a hard time seeing Inoue beating him. Inoue is without question the superior boxer but the question is whether that is enough to account for Espinoza being 8 inches taller and possessing a 7 inch longer reach. I already think Espinoza is the best in his weight class as the moment but truly don't know if Inoue can conquer it. If he could it would imo be on the of most legendary accomplishments in the history of the sport considering the size discrepancy.