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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.

Unanimous but unhappy? Find out why Inoue apologized after beating Alan Picasso
Naoya Inoue moves to 32-0 after a Riyadh masterclass performance.

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.

JAKE PAUL CONFIRMS CRUISERWEIGHT RETURN AFTER ANTHONY JOSHUA KNOCKOUT DEFEAT TODAY

David Adeleye claims Jake Paul can still "sneak" a world title shot. Read the full 2026 return plan and broken jaw injury update.

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How Jake Paul can still qualify for a world title shot.

David Adeleye still thinks Jake Paul will find a way to get a shot at a world title, even after losing to Anthony Joshua.

Paul fought Joshua, which seemed like a really uneven match because he jumped straight into the heavyweight boxing scene.

Joshua, a former two-time world champ, stopped Paul in the sixth round. Many thought it crushed Paul's chances of fighting at the top.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer's rise has been controversial because he chose to fight weaker opponents while claiming he could become a world champion.

Now, after his second loss, he's at a weird point where he has to figure out what to do next while recovering from a broken jaw.

Paul said he'll go back to cruiserweight and still wants to try for the world-level ranks.

Even though he lost badly, Adeleye thinks Paul will do just that, but he's not sure if Paul can actually win a world title.

Adeleye said on talkBOXING, "I think he'll be back in the ring in 2026 to prove something."

No one knows at what level. It depends on what drives him. If he stays realistic, they might find the right opponents for him.

I think he could sneak his way into a world title shot if he beats some guys at the regional level in the US.

If he picks the right fights and gets ranked in the top ten at cruiserweight, it could be a voluntary defence.

If you're a champion and can make a certain amount of money, why not? You'd go for it.

I'm not saying he's going to win a world title fight, but I totally think he could box for one.

Beating the champion, though, is a whole different story.

Who might Jake Paul fight next?

Paul will probably take a long break from boxing to focus on his personal life.

But people think he'll be back in 2026 to try to get some more high-paying fights.

One likely option is a rematch with Tommy Fury, who beat him in 2023.

Fury is seen as a more traditional boxer, but he hasn't been very active lately either.

A rematch with Paul has always been possible, but they haven't agreed on the terms yet.

Besides that, Paul might look to fight other boxers in the cruiserweight division who are in the world rankings.

If he wants a shot at a champion, he'll need to get ranked himself.

BREAKING: MIKE TYSON OPENS UP ABOUT LOSING MILLIONS AND FINDING HIS TRUE IDENTITY

Mike Tyson joins Sean Callagy on the Unblinded podcast to discuss how fear, discipline, and losing it all shaped his identity.

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Tyson Discusses Mental Conditioning

Mike Tyson recently opened up about how boxing, fame, and fear shaped him, both as a fighter and as a person.

On Sean Callagy’s Unblinded podcast, the ex-heavyweight champ looked back at what he learned from boxing, his fame, and figuring out who he was. He shared how things like discipline, fear, and doing well impacted him.

Discipline, Skill, and Fear

Tyson thinks discipline was key to his wins, but it wasn't all good.

He said, “Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but doing it as you love it.”

This helped him win fights but didn't leave much room for dealing with his feelings or finding balance outside of boxing.

Even though many thought he was a natural, Tyson said talent wasn't everything. “Talent means absolutely nothing. Everyone has talent. But how far do you want to go with it? Talent means nothing if I didn’t want to do it.” Tyson thinks his drive, not just his skill, got him to the top.

A lot of Tyson’s discipline and fear came from his trainer, Cus D’Amato, who influenced his boxing and how he saw the world. “I was scared to death of Cus D’Amato… he put the fear of God in me.” Tyson said, “If I didn’t meet this guy, it would have been bad. When I met him, I believed in God.” These early lessons gave him structure and faith, but also made fear and control a big part of who he was.

Confidence, Wins, and Money Lessons

Tyson talked about how confidence and wins helped each other. “Confidence breeds success, success breeds confidence.” This helped him get to the top, but it also hid his weak spots, especially when dealing with fame and money at a young age.

He said that tough times helped him figure out who he was and what was important. “More valuable than making all that money was losing it, because you realise that doesn’t define you.” Tyson added, “I realised people looked at me—you’re Mike with a billion dollars, and you’re Mike with 40 cents—you’re still Mike.”

More Than Just Boxing

Now that he's not caught up in the craziness of his younger years, Tyson is thinking about what boxing taught him and what it cost him. The fear, discipline, and hard work that made him famous also took a toll that he sees now. Understanding himself after boxing was a fight even he couldn't avoid—and it made him who he is today.

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