It\u2019s easy in sport, particularly boxing, to pick the favorite. Especially when that favorite is a pound-for-pound sensation, a considerable puncher among their weight class, and, arguably, at the peak of their powers.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the position Naoya Inoue finds himself a little more than a week away from arguably the toughest test of his pro career, against fellow P4P caliber opponent, Junto Nakatani. The pair collide in one of the most gripping all-Japanese encounters of the modern era on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome.<\/p>\n
Many will pick Inoue to retain his crown as the best from his region, if not the entire world.<\/p>\n
Robert Garcia is not necessarily one of those people.<\/p>\n
One of the world\u2019s best boxing coaches and minds, Garcia recently appeared on The Spit Bucket Podcast to offer his take and insight on the Inoue vs Nakatani showdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cNakatani is going to put up a great fight, he\u00a0has got great\u00a0power,\u00a0and Inoue has been dropped a couple of times,\u201d he said, as reported by Boxing Social<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think that the fighters that Inoue has been dropped by are as good or have as much power as Nakatani has.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia expects an incredible fight \u2026 yet still sides with Inoue.<\/p>\n Alan Dawson is Boxing Social’s editor.
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\nHe is also a columnist for Uncrowned at Yahoo Sports, and the founder-moderator of Boxing Twitter \u2014 a 20,000-strong community on X.
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\nA 17-year sports media veteran, Alan has enjoyed extensive stints at Business Insider as a correspondent, BT Sport as digital editor, and Give Me Sport as combat sports editor.
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\nHe is a 2-time Sports Journalist of the Year finalist and has been honored six times by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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\nAlan grew up near London but is based in Nevada with his young family. Outside boxing he plays 8-handicap golf, hikes, and rides his ebike through the Sierra mountain trails.<\/p>\n