The apprentice beat the master in November 2019. Naoya Inoue (22-0, 19 KO) defeated one of her idols, Nonito Donaire (42-6, 28 KO), to confirm himself on a global level and win the World Series Super Boxing. The dispute has not disappeared from the minds of any of the fans. Everyone expected a rematch that has dragged on. It will take place this Tuesday in Saitama (the fight will be around 1:30 p.m. Spanish peninsular time), which takes away a lot of its prominence. A shame, since the duel is of many carats.
The wait has been worth it for both of them, since now they will be able to unify three of the four bantamweight crowns. Inoue unified the WBA and IBF belts in the first fight and has made three defenses (all won by KO). Meanwhile, Donaire won the world championship (WBC) against Nordine Oubaali, beat him and then defended his title against Reymart Gaballo. Two wins in four rounds for the Filipino. He fell to Inoue, but because it is the first level. At 39 years old he is living a second youth. No doubt.
On paper, the favorite is Inoue. Firstly because of his age (29 years old) and secondly because we have not yet seen him reach his ceiling. The Japanese has only suffered with one rival: Nonito. Therefore, this lawsuit also speaks highly of his bravery. He could have chosen another path, but he wants to clear up doubts. Punch, speed, precision and rhythm are his hallmarks. It is very difficult to box him, but Donaire already did it based on rhythm and timing him in his first fight. We are facing a reserved prognosis lawsuit. Maybe the Japanese is 60-40% ahead, but anything can happen. No mistake will be allowed by the other, these are the fights they like. No prediction is clear, the best against the best. The teacher examines the apprentice again.