Naoya Inoue’s next super bantamweight title defense will come against countryman Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome on May 2. The much-talked-about encounter is largely considered the greatest all-Japanese fight of all time.
Nakatani will attempt to join an elusive club of Japanese fighters that have secured world titles in four separate weight classes.
Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) became the second Japanese fighter to achieve such a feat when he knocked out Stephen Fulton in July 2023.
“May 2 will be a historic day for boxing,” said Inoue at today’s official press conference. “But in terms of my boxing career, I have to think of it as just a point on the way. I will prepare for the fight with that mindset.”
Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) joined Inoue’s undercard last December in Saudi Arabia but looked a little off the pace during a points victory over Sebastian Hernandez while making his super bantamweight debut. Inoue would lead the card with a boxing clinic against David Picasso, winning by unanimous decision, followed by a face-off with a bruised Nakatani.
“I saw the fight in Saudi and against an opponent like that,” Inoue explained. “It’s made Junto a stronger boxer, so I’ll be on my toes and ready to go on fight night.”
It all goes down at the illustrious Tokyo Dome in front of 55,000 spectators. It will be the second time that Inoue has graced the venue following a 6th-round stoppage against Mexico’s Luis Nery nearly two years ago.
“I have to raise the level of every aspect of my boxing, otherwise I can’t bring out the best version of myself,” Inoue added. “First of all, I have to make sure this is the best fight I’ve ever had.”
Takuma Inoue, Naoya’s younger brother, will join the undercard in the co-main event and will collide with the first Japanese fighter to become a four-weight world champion in Kazuto Ioka. Inoue (21-2, 5 KOs) makes the first defense of his WBC bantamweight world title he won against Tenshin Nasukawa last November.