If there is one man that knows a thing or two about boxing, it’s legendary promoter Bob Arum.
Since starting off in the sixties and incorporating Top Rank in 1973, Arum has worked with a number of boxing’s most legendary fighters including Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Thomas Hearns, Manny Pacquiao and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
More recently, Arum co-promoted Tyson Fury, playing a part in the resurgence of the British heavyweight superstar who became the WBC heavyweight champion back in 2020 with a career defining victory over Deontay Wilder.
Despite working with so many great boxers throughout his storied promotional career, the 93-year-old recently spoke out and claimed the greatest fighter of all time is an active world champion who he has guided for the majority of his career.
In an interview with Jai McAllister, Arum named Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue as the greatest fighter he has ever witnessed.
“Inoue is not only pound-for-pound the best in the world, Inoue is the best fighter I’ve ever seen, no matter what weight category or anything.
“I have never ever in the almost 60-years I’ve been in boxing seen anything like Inoue.”
Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) is regarded by so many as the best fighter on the planet, with a phenomenal set of achievements and accolades to back these claims up. The 31-year-old has captured world titles in four weight divisions as well as the undisputed championship at both bantamweight and super bantamweight.
The Japanese superstar made the most recent defence of his undisputed titles on January 24 with an explosive 4th-round knockout victory over Ye Joon Kim at the Ariake Arena in his home country. ‘The Monster’ is set to return to the ring in the United States this June, with WBC mandatory challenger David Picasso emerging as the likely opponent.
