Eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) revealed that undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) is the current champion who most closely mirrors his own fighting style.
Much like a prime Pacquiao, Inoue is known for his speed, the darting in-and-out movement, and the ability to power through multiple weight classes. Inoue is a current four-weight world champion, having stopped 11 out of his last 13 opponents. Pacquiao recalled advising Inoue when he first started out.
“I like Inoue; I like the way he fights. Oh yeah [Inoue is the closest to me right now]. I can say closest to me, because when he started I went to Japan and he asked me about the proper punches, techniques, [and] things like that. I told him that the most important [attribute] in boxing is footwork. When you have [good] footwork, you can do a lot of things,” Manny saidÂ
Pacquiao’s praise comes at a critical juncture for the 33-year-old, who is set to defend his belts against fellow Japanese fighter Junto Nakatani on May 2. A victory for Inoue would likely lead to a move to featherweight (126 lbs).