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Naoya Inoue draws Manny Pacquiao-comparison

Japanese fighting sensation Naoya Inoue recently drew comparisons between him and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Pacman comparison

No Limit Boxing chief executive George Rose said that Inoue’s increasing global appeal is reminiscent of Pacquiao’s prime.

In addition, Rose said that being a boxing fan means that you are a fan of either Pacquiao or Inoue.

“The aura he has at the moment, the fighter you compare him to is Pacquiao,” Rose said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from the Philippines or not. If you’re a boxing fan, you’re a Manny fan. Same with Inoue.”

Rose said Inoue will receive an offer to fight in Australia if he retains his undisputed super bantamweight title against Luis Nery.

The challenger will be Australian fighter Sam Goodman, a mandatory challenger to his IBF and WBO belts.

“When you look at the opponents Inoue has had lately, Sammy is very different, and that’s why he can be the one who takes it to the champ,” Rose said.

“So this next fight is suddenly a huge risk. Because if Sammy loses to Schleibs, he loses everything, but like Tim Tszyu, he [Goodman] wants to keep fighting and always stay ready.”

“Sam Goodman’s a competitor.”

Interestingly, Pacquiao, 45, fought in Brisbane, where he absorbed a decision defeat to Jeff Horn in July 2017.

But just like Pacquiao back in his heyday, Rose believes that Inoue is this generation’s “pound-for-pound” king.

 “Inoue is a once-in-a-generation fighter and, in my opinion, the world’s number one pound-for-pound,” he said.

“When you look at his records, his world titles, all of the achievements – it’s phenomenal.”