Inoue to be rewarded for his dominant 2025 run.
For a lot of people, he already was, but Naoya Inoue officially became the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world two weeks ago when he beat Junto Nakatani.
This win was Inoue’s 7th straight defence of his undisputed crown and took place in front of 55,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome.
A high-level chess match between two grandmasters of the sport, Inoue’s generational greatness proved too good for even the pound-for-pound ability of Nakatani on the night. And as such, Inoue solidified his claim to being the greatest fighter in the history of Japan.
Because of his achievements throughout 2025, Inoue is set to receive an honour at the IBF’s 41st annual awards ceremony. Named as the male fighter of the year, “The Monster” will be presented with the Jersey Joe Walcott Award.
The honour of female fighter of the year will be going to Katie Taylor, who won her trilogy bout with Amanda Serrano in her sole outing last year.
Masamichi Yabuki vs. Angel Ayala will be named as IBF fight of the year, Elif Nur Turhan vs. Beatriz Ferreira as IBF female fight of the year, Conah Walker vs. Pat McCormack as intercontinental fight of the year, Michael Angeletti vs. Eros Correa as USBA fight of the year, and Ryang Ho Han vs. Ramil Roda as IBF international fight of the year.
IBF president Daryl Peoples stated, “These honours are truly well-earned, reflecting the dedication, discipline, and hard work each boxer has demonstrated in pursuit of success at the highest level of boxing. It is a privilege to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our champions and the fighters who competed in IBF title bouts in 2025. We look forward to honouring them.”
The ceremony will take place in Vietnam on the 27th of May.
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