JUNTO NAKATANI continues to breathe down Naoya Inoue’s neck, this time while occupying a leading position at super-bantamweight.
Indeed, the Japanese pound-for-pound stars have been on a collision course for what seems like an age, yet their mouth-watering matchup now appears to be creeping closer towards the realm of reality.
While Inoue, 30-0 (27 KOs), reigns supreme at 122lbs, after dominating each of his previous three weight classes, Nakatani, 31-0 (24 KOs), has quietly been going about his business in a typically clinical manner.
Perhaps most notably, ‘Big Bang’ engineered a truly stunning 12th-round finish against Andrew Moloney in 2023, just under a year before he became a three-division world champion.
In his last outing, meanwhile, the 27-year-old produced a punishing performance, his razor-sharp feet doing most of the work, before unifying the 118lb division against Ryosuke Nishida.
But now, Nakatani’s widely-reported move up to super-bantamweight has been officially confirmed, with the WBA placing him at number-one in its rankings.
As a result, the crafty southpaw should soon emerge as one of the leading contenders for Inoue, who must first take care of business against WBA ‘interim’ champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev on September 14.
Should he emerge victorious, it is entirely possible that the undisputed king will then target one more outing, perhaps against WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball, before he closes out the year.
But while Inoue has previously expressed an interest in becoming a five-division world champion, boxing paymaster Turki Alalshikh has equally mentioned a potential defence of his super-bantamweight crown against David Picasso.
It was not so long ago that Picasso pulled out of his scheduled fight with Inoue, only to then restore his WBC mandatory status with a win last month.
But either way, whether it is Ball or Picasso for ‘The Monster’ in December, Nakatani should be in a much stronger position to demand his dream fight at the beginning of 2026.
