TWO of Japan’s biggest stars are expected to collide in a mammoth event next year. To tee up the showdown, it seems Junto Nakatani has signed for a clash against a former opponent of Naoya Inoue’s for his super-bantamweight debut.
Inoue, 30-0 (27 KOs), has dominated and dazzled in the lower weight divisions in recent years, establishing himself as arguably the pound-for-pound number one and greatest fighter in the history of Japanese boxing.
The success of Inoue has slightly overshadowed that of Nakatani, 31-0 (24 KOs), who has followed in the footsteps of ‘The Monster’ and become a three-division world champion to put his own name into the pound-for-pound mix.
As a result, the reigning WBC and IBF bantamweight titleholder could face his countryman and challenge for the undisputed super-bantamweight championship next year.
Yahoo Japan reports that the 27-year-old is ‘scheduled’ for a 122lb debut against Ramon Cardenas, 26-2 (14 KOs), to prepare himself for a historic battle with Inoue.
Cardenas famously became the second man to drop Inoue when they met back in May in one of the fights of the year thus far, before being stopped in the eighth round.
Still, the Texan’s performance was enough to win over plenty of fans and a fight against Nakatani will give ‘Dinamita’ the chance to impress again and potentially spoil plans to stage Inoue-Nakatani in the first half of 2026.
Nakatani-Cardenas could take place in December, on the undercard of Inoue’s rumoured bout against Alan David Picasso. Nakatani has been headlining his own cards in Japan but may well have to settle for a supporting role in December.
As for Nakatani’s current bantamweight titles, it is expected that WBC #1 contender Tenshin Nasukawa, 7-0 (2 KOs), will challenge for the belt should it become vacant.
Meanwhile, current IBF mandatory challenger Jose Salas Reyes, 16-0 (10 KOs), could face Inoue’s brother, Takuma Inoue, 20-2 (5 KOS), in a bout to determine the new IBF bantamweight world champion.
