There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion. Boxing, more than most sports, produces them.

Arguably, the most contentious subject pertains to the pound-for-pound list. By and large, three names are interchangeable at the top. Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk, and of course, Naoya Inoue. All three fighters have become multiple-time undisputed champions. They also have that shiny 0 in the loss column.

Usyk’s wins over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois give him a strong case. Crawford’s picture-perfect victory over Errol Spence, along with a long list of accolades, has him firmly in the picture as well. Inoue, though, isn’t willing to put either fighter over him in the rankings.

“I believe I’m number one,” Inoue said to Naji on Cigar Talk.

If you were bioengineering a fighter in an underground laboratory, they would possess speed, accuracy, willpower, skills and punching power. Inoue undoubtedly has all of those attributes and more. His punching power, however, receives the lion's share of the praise.

If you asked the vast majority of his opponents, they’ll point to his blood-drenched fist and shake their heads in disbelief. In 2025, he's put even more skulls on the canvas.

Ye Joon Kim was his first victim, losing via fourth-round KO. A few weeks ago, he managed to pull in his second casualty, but if he wasn’t careful it would've been him on the wrong end of a KO loss.

Ramon Cardenas fought like a man with nothing to lose at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 4. Swinging from the fences almost worked in his favor as he knocked Inoue to the canvas in the second round.

In the end, seeing his own blood only made the Japanese star angry, leading to an increase in his aggression and a highlight-reel-worthy stoppage win.

Most prognosticators continue to point to his deleterious power. Inoue though, believes that you need to look past the bodies that continue to pile up on the canvas and look at how he’s delivering those KO shots.

“I don’t think it’s power,” Inoue continued. “I think it’s my technical ability to connect a punch.”