Naoya Inoue vs Aran Dipaen Preview Dec. 14th, 2021
Unbeaten Naoya Inoue of Japan will be defending his IBF, WBA, and Ring Magazine Bantamweight Titles against Aran Dipaen of Thailand this Tuesday, December 14th. The 12-round bout from Tokyo can be seen live on pay-per-view in Japan with no North American and UK broadcast expected. ‘The Monster’ Inoue last fought in June when he stopped Michael Dasmarinas in the third round while Dipaen last boxed in March when he stopped Sukpraserd Ponpitak after six rounds for the IBF Pan Pacific Bantamweight Title.
Inoue vs Dipaen Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Aran Dipaen +1400
- Naoya Inoue -4000
My Pick
The 28-year-old Inoue advanced to the World Boxing Series Final and won the IBF belt when he stopped Emmanuel Rodriguez in the second round in May, 2019. He then beat Nonito Donaire by unanimous decision in a classic to capture the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight tournament as well as Donaire’s WBA Super World Belt six months later. Inoue had originally won the regular WBA title in May, 2018 when he stopped Jamie McDonnell in 112 seconds.
Inoue is also a former WBO Jr. Bantamweight and WBC Junior Flyweight Titleholder who has all the tools to be one of the world’s elite boxers and enters the ring at 21-0 with 18 Kos. Inoue defended his Junior Bantamweight Crown seven times before moving up in weight. The Japanese star became a world champion in just his sixth pro fight when he stopped Adrian Hernandez in the sixth round for his WBC Junior Flyweight Belt in May, 2014.
He defended it once then moved up to super flyweight and took the title from Omar Narvaez by second-round KO in December, 2014. Inoue has been a sensation in his homeland since turning pro in 2012 and has boxed 117 rounds since. He’s a hard hitter with good boxing skills and owns a very impressive 85.7 per cent knockout ratio.
Inoue stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach. He enjoyed a fine amateur career and is 16-0 with 13 Kos in world title fights. He’s also beaten the likes of Juan Carlos Payano, Ryoichi Taguchi, Kohei Kono, Antonio Nieves, David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez. He’s also 8-0 with 6 Kos against current or former world champions in Donaire, Rodriguez, Taguchi, Hernandez, Narvaez, Kono, McDonnell and Payano.
The 30-year-old Dipaen enters the contest with a mark of 12-2 with 11Kos. His first defeat came at the hands of Zafar Parpiev by eight-round unanimous decision in 2019 in his third pro fight in Russia. He then lost a 12-round split decision to Tommy Frank in England for the vacant WBC International Silver Super Flyweight Title. The only other time he’s fought out of Thailand was also in 2019 when he travelled to Japan and stopped Ryohei Arakawa in the second round.
Dipaen has boxed 51 rounds since turning pro in 2019 and currently owns a wonderful 78.6 per cent knockout ratio so it’s obvious he has plenty of power in his hands. He’s 5-feet-4-inches tall with an unlisted reach so he gives up an inch in height to Inoue. Since turning pro he’s also captured the vacant vacant International Boxing Federation Pan Pacific Super Fly Title with a second-round stoppage over Jomar Fajardo.
There’s not much information out there about Diapen, but remarkably he didn’t make his pro boxing debut until February 2019. He then fought 11 times that year, just twice in 2020 and will be making his second appearance this year, but first since March. However, just five of his 14 opponents so far have entered the ring with winning records.
Prediction…
This looks like a mismatch on paper and the IBF arranged it as Dipaen is ranked fifth in the bantamweight division. Also, he arrived in Japan before that country bolted its doors on visitors due to the latest predictable variant of Covid. He’s going to be up against it though as Inoue is currently regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world by many. He’s got tremendous power, likes to go to the body and can also take a solid shot. He’s lived up to his nickname of Monster and his last six KO victims lasted less than 17 rounds combined and Jason Moloney went seven of those. Inoue is a perfectionist so there’s no doubt he’ll be focused when the bell rings but he still needs to be aware of an opponent who has won 11 of his 12 fight by knockout. There’s no logical prediction here other than taking Inoue, but upsets do happen. Still, I’m expecting the Monster to mash another opponent within the distance.
Inoue’s power, body shots and chin should be the difference.
Play: Inoue -4000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Aran Dipaen betting • Naoya Inoue betting