After much anticipation, Naoya Inoue has now confirmed that he will fight Junto Nakatani in a historic clash that will undoubtedly be the biggest in the history of Japanese boxing.
A four-division world champion, Inoue has dominated the bantamweight and super-bantamweight ranks in recent years, becoming one of three fighters to have claimed the undisputed title in multiple weight divisions during the four-belt era.
Meanwhile, Nakatani has announced himself as another Japanese fighter that deserves a place in the pound-for-pound top 10, having followed in Inoue’s footsteps and shadow to rule in three weight divisions and maintain a 32-fight undefeated record.
Now, after both were successful on the December 27 bill in Riyadh, Inoue has spoken out and revealed that the pair will indeed face one another, with their fight headed to the 57,000-capacity Tokyo Dome in Japan this May, as per Kyodo News.
“[I will] be going head-to-head with Junto Nakatani at Tokyo Dome in May this year.”
Then, ‘The Monster’ went on to admit that this fight will be the first which he has been ‘highly motivated’ for in a while, after a run of relatively humdrum title defences since getting his hands on the undisputed super-bantamweight throne in December 2023.
“I’m highly motivated for the first time in a while. I will train hard and I am looking forward to being in top shape for this fight.”
As for Nakatani, nicknamed ‘Big Bang’, he hopes to pull off the upset and overtake Inoue as the face of Japanese boxing, but he acknowledged that he will be up against ‘the best fighter in the world’ when they collide in less than three months’ time.
“He is the best fighter in the world, so I need to be in top condition to fight him.”
An official announcement is expected within the next couple of weeks, but Boxing News understands that the Japanese duo will collide on Saturday, May 2.
