Alan Picasso knows exactly why practically everyone is counting him out.
He's just days away from boxing a man universally regarded as one of the world's best three fighters. Beating
Naoya Inoue on December 27 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia won't come easy, but everything about their clash feels like something written out of a movie.
From Picasso's viewpoint, he believes this is the part where he steps into the main role and becomes a star.
"There are books that have a chapter where everything starts to become chaotic," Picasso told DAZN recently. "Where the most interesting part of the story begins. I think I’m at that moment, it's going to completely change our lives.
Unsurprisingly, Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) has spent his 2025 being active and dominant. The 32-year-old Ring and undisputed junior featherweight champion scored consecutive stoppage victories
over Ye Joon Kim and
Ramon Cardenas four months later.
When stopping his opponent wasn't an option, like against former champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev on September 14, the pound-for-pound star opted for plan B, boxing and moving
while cruising his way to a wide decision victory.
The Ring's No. 4 ranked 122-pounder isn't worried about what Inoue brings. In previous years, he too has been incredible active. In 2024, he made five appearances - including a 12-round points win over Azat Hovhannisyan that August - and remained unbeaten.
So far this year, he earned a
10-round majority decision win over Kyonosuke Kameda as part of the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao undercard on July 19.
Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs) has largely flown under the radar in his native Mexico but now been granted an opportunity of a lifetime and is refusing to waste it this weekend.
"We know what this fight represents," Picasso added.