Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani are set to square-off in the biggest fight in the history of Japanese boxing, with both men seeking to prove their pound-for-pound credentials.
Whilst Inoue has consistently risen through the pound-for-pound ratings and arguably sits in top spot, Nakatani has been working away in the background and is finally beginning to receive the global recognition that he deserves.
Nakatani first claimed world honours as a flyweight back in 2020, before accelerating through the super-flyweight and bantamweight divisions with seven title contests at those weights in two years, becoming the unified 118lb champion during that time.
Back in December, ‘Big Bang’ made the jump up to super-bantamweight, in a first non-title bout since 2022, but was made to work in a points win against Mexico’s Sebastian Hernandez Reyes, who gave him his toughest fight to date.
Now, Nakatani is tasked with his fellow Japanese superstar, Inoue, with the chance to overtake ‘The Monster’ as both the pound-for-pound king and face of Japanese boxing.
In an interview with The Ring, a typically respectful Inoue was full of praise for his upcoming opponent, recognising the speed at which Nakatani is progressing.
“I definitely feel that he has grown rapidly recently and with the new fights he has been having at the pound-for-pound level, I have a lot of respect for him and rate him highly.”
Inoue, who puts his four super-bantamweight belts on the line, has said he expects his countryman to be the toughest test of his career so far. The super fight takes place on Saturday, May 2, in front of a sold out crowd at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
