Naoya Inoue risked possible injury by wearing puncher's gloves, says analyst

Veteran boxing analyst Ed Tolentino believes that WBC, WBA and IBF bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue risked having a hand injury just to score a knockout over Nonito Donaire Jr. when they fought last Tuesday at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The 29-year-old Inoue, known for using Winning gloves in the past, wore Cleto Reyes instead when he fought Donaire in the rematch. It was a move that paid dividends as the Japanese scored a knockdown in the opening round before putting Donaire away for good in round two.

"Cleto Reyes is really the puncher's gloves. Inoue was that determined, by wearing that kind of gloves he was even risking possible hand injury. He was going to make Donaire feel the pain in the rematch. That was his mission," Tolentino said.

"There were criticisms after the first fight. There were boxing fans even in Japan saying he cannot even knock out a 39-year-old. There was a question after went through twelve tough rounds with Donaire in 2019. There were chinks in his armor that were created in that fight with Donaire."

Inoue, 23-0 with 20 knockouts as a prizefighter, has suffered from a hand injury in the past specifically from his fight against Omar Narvaez in 2014. According to Tolentino, Inoue's decision to wear a puncher's gloves was a bold move to end criticisms once and for all.

"He knew he is risking injury, but he took the risk and wore Cleto Reyes because he wants to literally hammer his point. We saw he went all out the moment Donaire was hurt. Inoue was willing to throw caution to the wind just to silence the critics after the first fight," Tolentino said.

—MGP, GMA News