American champion says pound-for-pound fighter is “not really a star”.
Bruce ‘Shu Shu’ Carrington has only been a professional boxer for a bit over four years.
The Brooklyn native gave American fans hope for yet another world champion in the future when he made his debut in 2021, following in the footsteps of other fighters from his neck of the woods like Riddick Bowe, Shannon Briggs, and Mike Tyson.
It turned out that expectant fans wouldn’t have to wait long to witness Carrington’s crowning moment, as he would knock out Carlos Castro to win the vacant WBC featherweight title this January.
Since then, Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) has become involved in a number of hypothetical matchups, with fans pairing him with fellow champions of his division in potential unifications.
But Carrington’s toughest test might end up being a man who hasn’t even fought at featherweight yet. A man who would represent Carrington’s most dangerous opponent despite not yet venturing into his division.
That man is Naoya Inoue, Japan’s undefeated pound-for-pound machine.
Listing Inoue’s career achievements would take far too long. However, “The Monster” has torn through four separate divisions and currently holds undisputed status at super-bantamweight, set to defend against Junto Nakatani in May.
It’s the Nakatani fight in particular that will undoubtedly draw a massive crowd, as it’s an all-Japanese blockbuster that will take place at the Tokyo Dome.
Inoue has fought previously at the Tokyo Dome, where he beat Luis Nery in front of a sold-out crowd of 55,000.
Despite this, Carrington has claimed that Inoue is not a star, saying on “The Porter Way Podcast”, “You’re not a star unless you’re really a star in America…If he wants to break through that threshold, [he should] come to ‘Shu York City’.”
Should Inoue beat Nakatani, a move up to featherweight would be likely, and it should be interesting to see which titlist the pound-for-pound star will face first.
What do you think about this take on Naoya Inoue from Bruce Carrington?🤔
Does ‘The Monster’ need to fight more in the US?🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/VDg0BcxnfK
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) March 4, 2026
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