Naoya Inoue is solidifying his status as one of the greatest boxers of this era. He has dominated lower weight classes with incredible power and technique, becoming arguably Japan`s best boxer ever.
Recently, there has been growing anticipation for a fight between Inoue and fellow top-ranked pound-for-pound boxer, Junto Nakatani. Today, these two Japanese stars verbally agreed to make this highly anticipated match a reality.
Inoue, with a record of 29 wins and no losses (26 knockouts), is a four-division world champion. Nakatani, undefeated at 30-0 (23 knockouts), has won titles in three divisions and currently holds the WBC bantamweight title, having knocked out his last four opponents since moving up from super-flyweight.
With Inoue`s schedule planned for 2025, Nakatani aims to follow in Inoue`s footsteps by unifying the bantamweight division this year. Currently, all four major bantamweight titles are held by Japanese fighters: WBA (Seiya Tsutsumi), WBO (Yoshiki Takei), and IBF (Ryosuke Nishida).
At today`s Japanese Boxing Commission awards, Inoue seemed confident in Nakatani`s potential title unification bouts. He publicly asked Nakatani to “boost Japanese boxing and fight him at the Tokyo Dome next year.” Nakatani responded positively, saying, “Let`s do it.”
While the specifics are still to be finalized, this agreement between two undefeated power punchers is a positive step towards what could be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
A potential hurdle is the weight class, especially given reports that Inoue may move up to featherweight later this year, possibly vying for a title at 126lbs in December.
This could mean Nakatani would need to move up two weight classes to face Inoue in a featherweight world title fight if they were to meet in 12 months.
However, Nakatani, a southpaw who is three inches taller than Inoue despite fighting at a lower weight, might find this transition less challenging than other bantamweights.
Alternatively, Inoue could postpone his featherweight ambitions and defend his undisputed super-bantamweight title against Nakatani after his rumored September fight with Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
