The outcome of a fantasy showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Naoya Inoue has been debated for many years.
At the height of his professional career, Pacquiao was one of the very best fighters on the planet. The Filipino icon captured world titles in no less than eight weight classes, defeating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley along the way.
Inoue, who is known as ‘The Monster’, has taken the boxing world by storm over the last decade. The 32-year-old currently reigns as the undisputed super-bantamweight champion, remaining unbeaten through all 30 of his professional outings since his debut back in 2012.
Speaking on his own podcast, heavyweight legend Mike Tyson spoke fondly of Inoue, before going on to claim that the Japanese superstar is ‘better’ than Pacquiao was in his prime.
“You ever hear of [The] Monster? Japanese fighter called Monster, this is a Monster… He’s a mean son of a b—h, he don’t look like much.”
He’s better than Manny Pacquiao.
He’s vicious!”
Inoue is one of just three fighters within the ‘four belt era’ to have won the undisputed championship in two divisions, standing alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford.
The 32-year-old made the most recent defence of his super-bantamweight crown against Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas on May 4, stopping the American in the eighth round of their bout to remain undefeated.
As for Pacquiao, the 46-year-old makes a sensational return to the sport next month when he challenges reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, as he bids to become the oldest world champion at 147lbs of all time.
