The answer to the trivia question is Enrique Pinder.

That’s the name of the last man recognized, by way of holding all available recognized sanctioning body titles, as undisputed bantamweight champion of the world. In July 1972, the Panamanian Pinder won a fifteen-round decision over Rafael Herrera for the WBA and WBC belts. The WBC stripped Pinder and Pinder lost the WBA title to Romeo Anaya in January 1973. 

Fifty years have passed since then. The bantamweight title has remained fractured and unification of any sort has been rare even with the addition of the IBF and WBO. In 2010, Fernando Montiel (WBO) knocked out Hozumi Hasegawa (WBC) for partial unification. Nonito Donaire knocked out Montiel and defended those two belts once before moving on. 

Enter Naoya Inoue. 

Inoue, freshly moved up from Jr. bantamweight, entered and won the World Boxing Super Series, defeating Emanuel Rodriguez (IBF) and Nonito Donaire (WBA) to unify a pair of belts. Earlier this year, Inoue knocked out Donaire to add the WBC strap. For Inoue, Tuesday’s fight with two-time titlist Paul Butler (ESPN+, 2:30 AM EST) is a chance to complete his collection of belts and finish a fantastic run in the division. 

So far, Inoue is 8-0 at bantamweight with seven knockouts. Six of his eight wins in the class have come against men ranked, none lower than sixth, by both TBRB and Ring Magazine. A win Tuesday would make him Japan’s first undisputed champion since the WBC and WBA began gradually fracturing title recognitions in the 1960s. 

As Tom Gray of Sporting News pointed out on Twitter, Fighting Harada technically held both titles when he defeated Eder Jofre for the bantamweight title in 1965. The distinction for Inoue comes in the context of those times. When the WBC launched in 1963, they recognized the same champions as the WBA. The sanctioning body splits as we know them today hadn’t become the norm. Those claiming, including Inoue, that Tuesday grants him the chance to be Japan’s first undisputed champion, are essentially distinguishing a difference in achievement between eras (even if inadvertently).   

To call Paul Butler a prohibitive underdog is understatement. Relative to their weights, Butler winning on Tuesday would be among history’s biggest upsets. That Butler is even here is a product of circumstance. Three-division titlist John Riel Casimero was the WBO titlist but lost the belt outside the ring. COVID previously scuttled a fight with Inoue in the immediate aftermath of the WBSS. Butler won his belt versus respectable Jonas Sultan but his opposition has been unremarkable for several years. 

There can be a case that this fight is an example of why undisputed might not always be necessary or even desirable. Inoue is already widely recognized as the rightful bantamweight king. If this is a formality, do formalities matter?

To Inoue, the answer is probably yes. Being Japan’s first undisputed champion in the multiple sanctioning body era matters. Being the first undisputed bantamweight champion since the first Nixon administration matters.

Can Butler show how much he matters and pull off the biggest upset of at least the twenty-first century?        

Let’s get into it. 

Stats and Stakes

Naoya Inoue 

Age: 29

Title: Lineal/TBRB World Bantamweight (2021-Present, 1st Defense); Ring Magazine/IBF Bantamweight (2019-Present, 5 Defenses); WBA Bantamweight (2019-Present, 4 Defenses)*

Previous Titles: WBC light flyweight (2014, 1 Defense); WBO Jr. bantamweight (2014-18, 7 defenses)

Height: 5’5   

Weight: 117 ¾ lbs.

Stance: Orthodox

Hails from: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Record: 23-0, 20 KO

Record in Major Title Fights: 16-0, 14 KO (18-0, 16 KO including sub-title fights) 

Last Five Opponents: 145-16-1 (.898)

Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: Ryoichi Taguchi UD10; Adrian Hernandez TKO6; Omar Narvaez KO2; Kohei Kono TKO6; Jamie McDonnell TKO1; Juan Carlos Payano KO1; Emanuel Rodriguez KO2; Nonito Donaire UD12, TKO2; Jason Moloney KO7

Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: None

*Also won and defended a WBA sub-title at bantamweight in 2018

Vs.

Paul Butler

Age: 34

Titles: WBO Bantamweight (2022-Present, 1st Attempted Defense)

Previous Titles: IBF Bantamweight (2014) 

Height: 5’6   

Weight: 118 lbs.

Stance: Orthodox

Hails from: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, United Kingdom 

Record: 34-2, 15 KO, 1 KOBY

Press Rankings: #6 (Ring), #8 (TBRB), #9 (BoxRec)

Record in Major Title Fights: 2-2, 1 KOBY 

Last Five Opponents: 64-92-7 (.414)

Notable Outcomes, TBRB and/or Ring Rated Foes: Zolani Tete TKO by 8; Emanuel Rodriguez L12 

Additional Current/Former Titlists Faced: Stuart Hall SD12, UD12  

The Pick: Inoue’s failure to make weight on his first try could give some pause. Inoue has made no secret about his intentions to move to Jr. featherweight in 2023. Already it’s easy to fantasize about a clash with unified Jr. featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton. What can Butler do to end that narrative before it begins?

Butler is a little taller than Inoue though Inoue has a slight edge in reach. Butler will have to establish his jab, look for right hands over the top, and get out of range of Inoue, repeatedly, to have a shot. Butler has been stopped, and he’s been dropped, and Inoue is one of the game’s most lethal offensive fighters. Butler has to be out of range of combinations quickly as Inoue’s left hook can sometimes set up a lightning right foes can’t see coming. Butler has to fight a perfect fight and even that might not be enough.

Inoue has almost every advantage. He’s quicker of hand and foot, he’s more explosive, he’s got a better chin, and Inoue’s technique is tight and refined. Inoue has the acumen to outbox opponents when knockouts don’t open up early, battering the body along the way. 

Big upsets can happen. This doesn’t feel like a place to wager on one. Inoue might be the most talented fighter in the sport. If he’s not, he’s on a short list and Inoue has shown a knack for coming up big in his biggest moments.

This is a big moment.

The pick is Inoue by knockout.  

Rold Picks 2022: 57-17

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com