Shingo Inoue was awarded the World Boxing Association (WBA) Trainer of the Year for the great 2024 he had as an outstanding mentor of great figures, especially his pupil and son, Naoya Inoue. 

The trainer had two world champions in the year. Both Naoya and Takuma Inoue, lived a good 2024 and were very responsible for his father’s winning the award. 

As for Naoya, he made two fights in the year and in both of them he won by knockout. The undisputed super bantamweight champion defeated Luis Nery in May by TKO6 and repeated the dose against TJ Doheny in September with a seven round victory. He was scheduled to fight Sam Goodman in December but had to be postponed to January 24, 2025 due to injury. 

Takuma also had a good 2024 with two defenses of the WBA bantamweight title. The first was against Jerwin Ancajas with a KO9  during the month of February and the second against Sho Ishida in May, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. In October he lost to Seiya Tsutsumi and lost his belt but left a great impression in a fight of the year candidate. 

“Bomac” Honorable Mention

The WBA also recognized Brian McIntyre with an Honorable Mention for his great work alongside one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Terence Crawford. In addition, it highlights his contribution to boxing with the training of prospects and the social programs he has developed.