UNANIMOUS BUT UNHAPPY? FIND OUT WHY INOUE APOLOGIZED AFTER BEATING ALAN PICASSO
Naoya Inoue defeats Alan Picasso by unanimous decision in Riyadh. "The Monster" admits fatigue after his 4th win of 2025.
Naoya Inoue of Japan, still undefeated, mentioned he was beat after his unanimous decision victory over Alan Picasso from Mexico in Riyadh this Saturday. This marks his fourth victory in the fourth month of 2025.
The Monster, as he’s called, defended his super bantamweight titles for the sixth time. This fight was his Saudi Arabia debut after inking a deal with Turki Alalshikh, the guy steering the ship in the kingdom's boxing scene.
Even so, he couldn't quite knock out the tough Picasso and had to settle for a unanimous decision, his second in a row.
At 32, Inoue's year has been packed, and he chalked up his performance, which he admitted wasn't good, to being worn out.
"I'm tired, to be real," he confessed after his record hit 32 wins, with 27 by knockout. It's not just about the four fights, but all the hard work prepping for them.
You can handle it when it's happening because you're just thinking about the fight, but now that it's done, I see that I really gave all I had, he continued.
Inoue's win opens the door for a potentially huge fight with fellow countryman Junto Nakatani in Tokyo next year. Nakatani also won by unanimous decision against Sebastian Hernandez of Mexico earlier that night in his first super bantamweight fight.
Inoue pointed out that nothing's set in stone yet but said he’d love to set up a fight that would get everyone in Japan hyped.
Against Picasso, Inoue was eight centimeters shorter. Picasso also came into the fight without a loss, just one draw in 32 wins.
From the get-go, Inoue's skill was clear as he landed some solid hits in the early rounds.
In the sixth, Inoue shook Picasso again, but the Mexican fighter started throwing punches.
Picasso hung in there, making it to the 12th round, but the judges' decision was pretty clear by then.
This is the second fight in a row that Inoue has gone the distance, after beating Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan by unanimous decision back in September.
"No disrespect to Picasso, but I wanted to show a bigger difference between us and knock him down," Inoue said. I didn't live up to my own expectations or fight the way I wanted to.
Nakatani got a reality check in the super bantamweight division in his fight against Hernandez.
The 27-year-old seemed good in the first half, but Hernandez wouldn't give up and fought his way back into the game.
Nakatani did just enough to win and kept his record perfect at 32 wins, 24 by knockout.
He called the fight an experience and is hoping to fight Inoue next.
"I moved up to this division to win world titles, so if I get the chance, I want to take it," Nakatani stated.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
