Takuma Inoue was named Fighter of the Month by the World Boxing Association (WBA) in its February rankings publication, which comes along with the month’s top honors and also awarded Julian Smith as Honorable Mention. 

Inoue defended his WBA bantamweight world belt against Jerwin Ancajas last February 24, in Tokyo, in a dominant fight that ended with a knockout in the ninth round. The Japanese confirmed his status as 118-pound champion by defeating an opponent of great caliber easily thanks to his speed and technical work. 

The 28-year-old Japanese is going through the best moment of his career and now has six wins since 2021 as he awaits the challenges to come. 

For his part, Smith appeared last February 2 in Orlando, Florida, against Cuban Orestes Velazquez for the WBA International super lightweight title. The American was not the favorite but managed to impose his boxing and win by technical knockout in the final part of the fight. 

It was a dominant fight that shows the evolution of Smith, who is 33 years old. The Illinois native has been overcoming obstacles between tough fights but has now capitalized on all the hard work and is a WBA regional champion.

The rankings lists for the month of February are public and can be reviewed in the corresponding section of the organization’s official website.