Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue and #1 WBC contender Alan Picasso are being targeted for June 14th in Las Vegas. This is the fight that Inoue’s co-promoter, Bob Arum, has discussed happening for the U.S.
Picasso: Undefeated, Untested
Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) is unbeaten but hasn’t fought anyone near the level of Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs). This match will likely have a similar outcome as Naya’s recent title defense against untested Ye Joon Kim. Boxing fans want to see Inoue step it up against quality opposition with power and a shot at beating him, like Rafael Espinoza, Murodjon Akhmadaliev, and Bruce Carrington.
However, Naoya doesn’t appear interested in rocking the boat and ruining the situation that he has going for him. Why would Inoue want to fight dangerous opposition when he’s got fighters like Picasso and Kim he can easily beat to keep bringing in the dough?
Arum is likely counting on the Mexican Picasso being about to pull fans in from Southern California and Arizona to see this match. That’s not realistic. He’s not well known enough to draw, and Inoue has no following in the States because he’s only fought there three times in mismatches.
Time for Real Competition
If Inoue is going to fight in the U.S., he needs to face someone who has a chance of beating him that fans will want to watch. They’re not going to be excited about seeing him fight the inexperienced finesse-level fighter, Picasso. They want to see if Inoue is for real by throwing him in with the 6’1″ stork, Rafael Espinoza, to see if he can handle the height of this guy.
“#InouePicasso targets June 14 in Las Vegas,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X about a fight between undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and Alan Picasso.
Picasso, 24, recently defeated Yehison Cuello, Diego Alberto Ruiz, Azat Hovhannisyan, Erik Ruiz, and Damien Vazquez. Of those, Hovhannisyan is the most notable, but he wasn’t young—he was 36 when Picasso fought him.
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