WHILE many boxers are shying away from Naoya “The Destroyer” Inoue, gutsy Jonas Sultan believes he has what it takes to beat the Japanese world bantamweight champion and become the next Filipino world titlist in the crowded weight division.
“Malaki po ‘yung bilib ko sa sarili ko na kaya kong talunin si Naoya,” Sultan said yesterday in the Philippine Sportswriters Association online forum.
He was still in quarantine after his sensational unanimous decision win over vaunted Puerto Rican Carlos Caraballo in New York last Oct. 30.
Performing at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, the Pinoy prizefighter floored the Puerto Rican four times on the way to winning the World Boxing Organization intercontinental bantamweight belt to boost his status and rating in the WBO.
Currently ruling the roost in the WBO bantamweight division is compatriot John Riel Casimero, who is scheduled for a mandatory title fight with Briton Paul Butler on Dec. 11 in Dubai.
A native of Zamboanga del Norte, Sultan, 29, improved his record to 18 wins, 11 by knockout, against five losses while inflicting Carballo his first loss in 15 fights.
“Matagal ko nang pangarap na makalaban si Inoue. I-prove ko ‘yun kapag nakalaban ko siya,” he said.
Sultan said his confidence against the undefeated Inoue, who holds the International Boxing Federation welterweight and World Boxing Association super welterweight belts, was boosted further after his triumph over the fancied Caraballo.
