Unbeaten featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs) called out Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue after stopping his substitute opponent Bryan De Gracia (29-4-1, 25 KOs) last Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garcia in New York.
During the post-fight interview, the 27-year-old Brooklyn, New York native Carrington acknowledged Naoya Inoue’s presence in the crowd for the contest and said he’d like to fight him.
It’s hoped that the Japanese superstar Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) will move up from super bantamweight soon, where he holds the undisputed championship, so he can face Carrington and the other talented fighters in the weight class.
It’s a division far more stacked with talent than the 122-lb weight class where Inoue resides, but it lacks quality opposition to attract interest in his fights from U.S. fans, who expect to see competitive fights involving talented opposition.
Inoue surprised fans when he chose to stay at 122 after becoming undisputed champion last December against Marlon Tapales. It was thought that Inoue would move up to featherweight after that fight to take advantage of the deep talent pool in that weight class.
Instead, Inoue chose to stay at 122 and defend his undisputed championship against the recently knocked-out Luis Nery last May. It was a strange move by Inoue and perhaps a signal that he’s not confident about moving up to a weight class that would bring extreme danger to him.
Carrington was arguably the only bright spot on Top Rank’s card last Saturday night. The other fighters on their roster underperformed, with Tiger Johnson and Xander Zayas failing to impress.
‘Shu Shu’ Carrington knocked down his replacement opponent De Gracia in the fifth and seventh rounds before finishing him off in the eighth round. It was a good performance against a fighter brought on a week’s notice.
Carrington took some shots while going for the knockout in the eighth round and earlier in the fight. Overall, Carrington looked outstanding in his win over De Gracia, and he’s now ready for bigger and better things.
Top Rank will need to get Carrington a title shot so he can take advantage of his talent.
At 27, Carrington is not young for a fighter who has never fought for a world title. Many fighters capture world titles well before that age and accomplished a lot more.
The three-year pro Carrington has gotten a late start in his career, and he’s got to play catch-up if he wants to accomplish the big things before he ages out, and is passed up by younger fighters.
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