Nayoa Inoue has admitted Oleksandr Usyk deserved Ring magazine Fighter of the Year after an unbelievable 2024.
The Japanese boxer Nayoa Inoue has been in limbo recently with a period of inactivity (compared to his standards).
His fight with Sam Goodman got postponed and then eventually cancelled.
This could have been what cost him the Ring magazine Fighter of the Year for 2024 but Inoue has no hard feelings about Uysk taking the crown.
Nayoa Inoue thinks Uysk deserved it after incredible back-to-back victories over Tyson Fury.
“Yes, for the year he had, he deserves Fighter of the Year.”
Inoue also said he doesn’t focus much on Uysk because of the obvious weight disparity.
“Usyk is a great fighter, no question… We will obviously never fight since we are so far apart in weight, so I don’t really focus on him as much as I would other fighters in and near my division.”
Nayoa Inoue Sets Focus To Next Fight-
Inoue is now set to face Ye Joon Kim who has a record of 21-2-2.
The change was made after Sam Goodman pulled out for the second time reopening his cut which postponed the first meeting.
Sam Goodman will now have to wait till after Inoue takes on Kim.
But his potential bout with Japan’s finest could be in jeopardy.
The WBO, who Goodman was number 1 contender, have now asked Goodman and his team to produce medical evidence of the recovery time for the injury.
WBO President Gustavo Olivieri said that Goodman is being sent an interim medical certification to confirm his recovery time for the injury.
Olivieri said he needed to keep the division active and Goodman has a six-month window.
“If he’ll be ready within the six-month window, there’s no issues at all,” Olivieri said. “But we need to keep the division active.”
With fighters like Murodjon “M.J.” Akhmadaliev, who is the WBA number one contender, in the wings waiting for opportunity Goodman will need to recover quickly”.
Meanwhile, Inoue will look to keep his momentum into 2025 with a bout against Kim on the 24th of January.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
