Naoya Inoue’s father, Shingo Inoue, doesn’t believe in overstaying your welcome.
After guiding his son to the biggest win of his career on May 2 against Junto Nakatani at Tokyo Dome, Naoya not only climbed to the No. 1 spot in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings but also defended his undisputed 122-pound throne. Additionally, their fight was a huge financial success. With a reported gate of $32 million, it cracked the top four in boxing history. Only Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford raked in more ticket revenue. Considering all that his son has achieved, Shingo would prefer to see him walk away while he's on top of the boxing world. Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) is 33. “How many more fights does he need to have? It’s about time he retire already,” Shingo said to Yahoo! Japan News. “He can walk away cleanly while he’s still a legend and at his best. I haven’t talked to him directly about it, but honestly, how many more fights does he need? It’s enough already. He can retire suddenly while still a legend and while he’s still great.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvYrvXEvnhc Retirement, however, isn’t in the immediate plans. Inoue has discussed the possibility of moving up to featherweight. Before he makes that decision, however, he's having discussions to take on another pound-for-pound star in Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez . As reported by The Ring , preliminary talks are being held between the camps with a target date of January in Japan. Rodriguez, ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound by The Ring , owns The Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO 115-pound titles. The San Antonio native will move up to 118 pounds to fight WBA bantamweight titlist Antonio Vargas on June 13 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
