(Riyadh Season)
Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani met face-to-face to formally announce the biggest all-Japanese fight in the nation’s rich boxing history.
A press conference was held Friday to confirm boxing’s worst-kept secret: Inoue, 32-0 (27 KOs), will risk his lineal, Ring and undisputed 122lbs championship, while Nakatani, 32-0 (24 KOs), will bid to become a four-division champion. Their superfight will top a May 2 blockbuster event to air live on Lemino pay-per-view from the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
U.S. distribution rights weren’t immediately revealed during the presser. The full undercard, however, was revealed. Among the supporting clashes will be a terrific bantamweight clash between WBC titleholder Takuma Inoue and former four-division titlist Kazuto Ioka.
The Inoues, Nakatani and Ioka were on stage Friday, along with their respective teams, to create an historic moment for the Japanese media.
Takuma is Naoya’s younger brother by two years and a two-time bantamweight title claimant. He previously held the WBA title and won the WBC belt in a 12-round decision victory over Tenshin Nasukawa last November 24 in Tokyo.
Ioka, 32-4-1 (17 KOs), became the first male boxer from Japan to win major titles in four weight divisions. He beat Naoya to the feat by four years, having won belts at 105lbs, 108lbs, 112lbs and 115lbs.
Nakatani has the chance to become just the third ever on that list and fourth overall to win belts in at least four weight divisions. Recently elected Hall of Fame member Naoko Fujioka is the nation’s only boxer – regardless of gender – to accomplish the feat.
Ioka can become Japan’s first male boxer to win five divisional titles should he beat the younger Inoue. He rebounded from back-to-back defeats to then-unbeaten Fernando Martinez with a win at bantamweight last New Year’s Eve at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Friday’s session capped a year’s worth of anticipation that the fight had a significant chance to become a reality. Inoue and Nakatani spoke it into existence last year during the 2024 Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) awards.
They met again during this year’s awards ceremony, where Inoue won his eighth consecutive Fighter of the Year award, while Nakatani was also honored for Best Skill, an award shared with Takuma Inoue. The pair of pound-for-pound entrants were happy to report that they honored their word.
“We were both able to fulfill our…
2026-03-06 05:30:32
