Two-division undisputed champion Naoya Inoue has been called out by an unbeaten American star, but must first take care of business against Junto Nakatani later this year.
The 32-year-old is expected to lock horns with domestic rival Nakatani in May, defending his four major super-bantamweight titles at the Tokyo Dome, Japan.
In anticipation of their blockbuster showdown, the pair fought on the same card in December, with Inoue handily defeating David Picasso by unanimous decision.
Former unified bantamweight king Nakatani, on the other hand, claimed a largely contentious points victory over Sebastian Hernandez in his first outing at 122lbs.
Regardless of this, Inoue is set to enter their tussle as a sizable favourite, while three-weight world champion Nakatani nonetheless represents a significant challenge.
Elsewhere in the lower divisions, meanwhile, newly-crowned WBC champion Bruce Carrington has been typically vocal about a potential encounter with ‘The Monster’.
The 28-year-old claimed his world featherweight title last month – orchestrating a destructive ninth-round finish over Carlos Castro – but now seems determined to secure the biggest fights possible.
One of which, of course, would be a monumental title defence against Inoue, who is widely regarded as a top two pound-for-pound operator.
In an interview with Cigar Talk, Carrington doubled down on his interest in their possible matchup at 126lbs while, at the same time, acknowledging that the Japanese sensation must first get past Nakatani.
“I feel like that fight is going to happen, man. We’ve just got to wait for everything to fall into place.
“He’s got Nakatani [next]. He’s got to make a decision on if he’s actually going to move up [to featherweight].
“After that [Ramon] Cardenas fight, he was kind of a little shaky. There’s still holes in his game that fall right into my game. I wanna expose that to the world.
“I wanna be the first one to beat Inoue and be known as one of the greats in boxing.”
The fight Carrington refers to, against Cardenas, saw Inoue climb off the canvas for only the second time in his career, before halting his man with an eighth-round finish in May 2025.
