This is Rummy’s Corner.
Coming up on June 7th from Saitama, Japan, in a championship bout that will be available
on ESPN+, the undefeated unified IBF/WBA super duper bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, will
square off in a rematch against WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire.
The Monster and The Filipino Flash first battled it out back in November 2019, in an IBF-WBA
super duper unification match, which was also the final match in the World Boxing Super
Series.
It wound up being a hell of a fight between two highly skilled boxers who both exhibited
tremendous heart and determination.
It was a highly entertaining tactical chess match with frequent short explosive moments
scattered throughout the entire 12 rounds of action.
At the end of the night, Inoue was awarded a unanimous decision victory to become the
unified bantamweight champion.
The match itself was considered the 2019 Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine.
Donaire has fought twice since then, the first happening in May of last year when he stopped
the undefeated Nordine Oubaali in round 4 to win the WBC bantamweight title.
Then last November Donaire defended that title with another 4th round knockout victory against
Reymart Gaballo.
Meanwhile Inoue has defended the unified championship 3 times since.
He stopped Jason Moloney in round 7 on Halloween 2020, then last June he stopped Michael Dasmarinas
in round 3, and last November he stopped Aran Dipaen in round 8.
The biggest challenge for Donaire going up against his 29 year old former conqueror is
the fact that The Filipino Flash is no spring chicken.
He will be 40 years old later this year, and while he has looked fantastic since the loss,
the prospect of facing Inoue again is undoubtedly a very daunting task.
Donaire did fight admirably last time out.
Indeed, Donaire fought a very smart fight and used every trick in his bag to try and
make Inoue uncomfortable.
Donaire did have a lot of successful moments where he forced Inoue to fight outside his
comfort zone.
Donaire also proved to be especially durable and he stood up to Inoue’s methodical power
attacks like a rock.
Donaire did get dropped after a delayed reaction from an obscene body shot, but that knockdown
aside, Donaire was absorbing tremendous punishment upstairs and down like nobody’s business.
So you simply can’t count Donaire out here.
He is too talented and too powerful and too experienced to ever write him off, and their
previous bout proved that the style match-up is a challenging one for Inoue.
On the flipside, Inoue also fought a very intelligent fight and he answered a lot of
questions regarding his heart, his durability, his toughness, and his ability to make adjustments
and improvise as the situation dictated.
Whenever Donaire was coming on strong, Inoue always kept his composure and remained calm
under fire, while trying to do all of the little things he needed to do in order to
offset Donaire’s successful tactics.
Inoue was adapting his range, he was mixing up the variety on his already wide assortment
of punches and angles, and he remained extremely disciplined while staying true to his style
as he fine-tuned his attacks in a way that became a bit more defensively responsible
while still finding ways to unload with his ample offensive arsenal
The thing that makes this one especially challenging for Inoue is the fact that Donaire has nothing
to lose.
At this point in his career, going on 40, everything he’s accomplished since dropping
back down to 118 has been gravy!
It’s all icing on the cake in what was already a long and illustrious career.
It’s hard to believe that Donaire won his first championship nearly 15 years ago now,
and that was when he soared onto the scene to score a shocking upset victory against
then undefeated and highly regarded Vic Darchinyan.
That one feels like a lifetime ago, although I was surprised in a recent rewatch that it
was actually in a 16x9 ratio.
But Donaire has nothing to lose here, and reputation wise, Inoue potentially has a lot
to lose.
Even in victory last time out, some fans are critical of the victory claiming he went life
and death with an old shot Donaire.
I think that’s an absolutely bonkers take myself, but all the same, there are some fans
who are critical of that win.
Here Inoue will have the chance to prove that he can make adjustments against a challenging
world class foe in a rematch.
And Donaire will have the chance to layer even more icing on that cake, even more gravy
piled on top of a long and illustrious decorated career that will undoubtedly one day earn
him a spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
But I have a difficult time imagining that Donaire can improve on his last performance.
Although again, you simply can’t count him out.
If he can set a nice trap and walk Inoue into a big left hook, stranger things have happened.
But this time around, I’m fully expecting Inoue to improve on his previous effort.
I think he will have a better idea of what is in front of him, and a better idea of how
to approach Donaire.
I likewise believe that Donaire will have a more difficult time absorbing the methodical
power attacks from Inoue, and I believe that will especially be true when Inoue opens up
downstairs.
So for my official prediction, I like Naoya Inoue, and I believe he will win inside the
distance, probably in the mid to late rounds, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s earlier.
So I’m picking Inoue by stoppage, let’s call it round 9, but what the hell do I know?
Anyone who’s watched any of my previous prediction videos knows I ain’t exactly
Quasimodo over here.
But whatever happens, I am extremely fired-up for this one, and may the best man win on
that night.
Best of luck to both champions!
So who do you think will win?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night!
This is Rummy’s Corner.
Nostradamus.
Quasimodo is the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Oh right.
Notre Damus.
Nostradamus, and Notre Dame.
Two different things completely.