Trainer Vergil Hunter breaks down Naoya Inoue’s latest big win over Luis Nery and discusses an idea being floated about him possibly facing Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in the future. Here Hunter says that Inoue isn’t in need of coming to the U.S. to grow his star, but if he would be willing to move up to face Gervonta Davis that’s exactly what he’d have to do.
Hunter on Inoue getting dropped for the first time but coming back to dominate Nery
“It shows you that anybody can be dropped if you get hit in the right spot. I don’t care who you are, I don’t care how tough your chin is, you get hit right you can go down. But it also shows that Nery woke up a sleeping giant and he paid a price for it. He gave him more determination. I think Inoue was pretty embarrassed by that, I do believe he was hurt, but Nery didn’t put on his finishing touches the way he should’ve. He got kind of reckless and let his opportunity get away to try to hurt him again and he paid a price.
“I think Nery was quite reckless in his approach in how he fought Inoue. He left a lot openings for Inoue and getting hit with a lot of very flush, clean shots and with that power you’re not going to be able to last long and he didn’t.”
On those who believe Inoue needs to come to America to fight a big name to really break through as a global star
“Why? He’s one of the rare people in the fight game that has a country behind him. So when you got a country behind him what you need another country for? If I can put 50,000 people in the Tokyo Dome I don’t need to go to America, you need to come to me. And if I was in his management team that’s just how I would look at it.
“Now the only way you could get me to come to America is entice me to America, and that’s going to cost money…I don’t have to come see you, you have to come see me.”
On what he makes of the idea of a future Naoya Inoue vs Gervonta Davis fight
“That fight would have to be in America. I think Gervonta’s name demands that fight be in America and again, it would be a situation where Inoue would have to come see him…if Inoue wants to come for his belt then he has to come see him, he doesn’t have to go see Inoue to give up the fight for his belt. And Leonard and Floyd, being as astute as they are, I don’t believe they would allow that in the first place. PBC won’t allow it, Al won’t allow it because here Gervonta is a star.”
On Inoue meeting Davis at a catchweight
“I don’t think Gervonta should go below 135…I’m sure Inoue walks around at ‘40, ‘45 — 145. You have to come up just like everybody else. Where is the value of me coming to a catchweight to fight you? You big in Japan, I’m big in The States. So there should not be any weight concession. ‘If you want to fight, come and fight me.’
“Let’s not make any excuses. Rigodeaux fought Lomachenko, there was no catchweight involved…he dared to take that opportunity, he came up short, but he dared to take it. Charlo dared to fight Canelo at 168 coming from 154. So it’s only a few pounds north. You’re getting a little older, I’m sure you could carry the weight comfortably. So I wouldn’t make any concessions for that fight.”