‘Monster’ Inoue becomes first Japanese to win prestigious boxing award

Naoya Inoue has been named the winner of the Sugar Ray Robinson Award as the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fighter of the Year, becoming the first Japanese boxer to win the prestigious prize, the fighter’s Ohashi Boxing Gym said Friday.

After capturing all four world championship belts as a bantamweight in 2022, Inoue, who is nicknamed “Monster,” repeated the feat as a super bantamweight last year, becoming only the second undisputed world champion in two weight classes in boxing’s four-belt era.

“I only fought two bouts in Japan last year, but it’s an honor to be recognized by boxing journalists around the world,” Inoue said in a statement released by the gym.

“The head of the Boxing Writers Association contacted me to tell me I had won. I understand the association has a 98-year history, and I feel the size and gravity of receiving this award. I want to take on 2024 as diligently as I can.”

Earlier this month, the Ring magazine named Inoue 2023’s “Fighter of the Year,” also a first for a Japanese boxer.

Jack Dempsey was named the Sugar Ray Robinson Award’s first recipient, for 1938, while other iconic heavyweights such as Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson have also won. Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines is a three-time winner.