Professional career
Inoue turned professional in 2012 and won a world title in his sixth contest, defeating Adrian Hernandez to pick up the WBC light-flyweight belt in 2014. After one defence, by the end of 2014, Inoue had skipped up two weight classes, winning the WBO super-flyweight title with a second-round stoppage over Omar Narvaez.
Inoue made seven defences of that title before moving up to bantamweight in May 2018, knocking out Jamie McDonnell in one round. Inoue went on to unify all of the bantamweight titles, winning the World Boxing Super Series along the way.
In July 2023, Inoue moved up to super-bantamweight, knocking out Stephen Fulton to take possession of both the WBO and WBC titles at 122 pounds. Inoue ended the year as undisputed king, beating Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds to become undisputed champion. Naoya Inoue is promoted by Top Rank in association with Ohashi Promotions. In November 2024, it was announced that Inoue had signed a deal to become an ambassador of Riyadh Season.
Trainers
Shingo Inoue
Naoya is trained by his father, Shingo Inoue.
