Shingo Inoue was honored as the WBA Trainer of the Year for 2024 in recognition of his work with his sons, Naoya and Takuma Inoue. Naoya is the undisputed world 122-pound champion while Takuma is a former WBA 118-pound champion. Naoya had two fights in 2024, winning both of them by knockout. He defeated Luis Nery in May by technical knockout and repeated the feat against TJ Doheny in September. Naoya was scheduled to fight Sam Goodman in December but had to be postponed to January 24, 2025 due to an injury suffered by Goodman. 

 

Takuma also had a good 2024 with two defenses of the WBA bantamweight title. The first was a stoppage win over a former 115-pound champion, Jerwin Ancajas in the month of February and the second was against Sho Ishida in May, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. In October, Takuma lost the tile to countryman Seiya Tsutsumi in a fight of the year candidate. 

 

Thee WBA also recognized trainer Brian McIntyre with an honorable mention for his great work alongside one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, WBA 154-pound champion Terence Crawford.