Former undisputed world bantamweight champion Naoya ‘’the Monster’’ Inoue of Ohashi Boxing Gym was chosen as MVP for 2022 at the International Boxing Federation’s annual convention in Chicago, the gym said on June 1.

  Inoue beat then World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines for his third title in the division last June and unified the bantamweight titles of all the four major sanctioning bodies by earning a technical knockout over then World Boxing Organization kingpin Paul Butler of Britain in December.

  Inoue, then World Boxing Association bantamweight kingpin, added the IBF bantamweight title in May 2019 by knocking out Emmanuel Rodriguez of Puerto Rico. Inoue successfully defended the IBF title six times until he relinquished all the titles concerned after his bout with Butler so that he can move up in weight to super bantamweight.

  The 30-year-old Inoue will challenge the 28-year-old Stephen Fulton of the United States on July 25 in Tokyo for the latter’s WBC and WBO world super bantamweight titles. Inoue is undefeated in his 24 bouts, including 21 KOs, while Fulton is also undefeated in his 21 bouts, including eight KOs.