The fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford has of course been made, and it could prove to be the biggest fight of this year. But another fight, one that has now been talked about for a few months and is expected to happen next year, is a far bigger, way more interesting fight than Canelo-Crawford. This is in the opinion of a man who has been around the sport for six decades.
And that fight is the all-Japanese collision between unbeaten stars Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani. Inoue as we know is the unified super-bantamweight ruler, while Nakatani is aiming to add the other bantamweight belts to the WBC title he currently holds. And next year, all being well, these two modern greats will get it on in a battle of supremacy.
Arum says forget Canelo-Crawford – the real fight is in Japan
And Top Rank boss Bob Arum says we should pretty much forget about Canelo-Crawford (but how could we, of course!) and look forward to the showdown between “The Monster” and “Big Bang.”
“A lot of people say Nakatani is the guy that could beat Inoue,” Arum said to The Ring. “That’s why it’s such a big fight. That’s a real, real fight. People who really know and follow those lower weight divisions, they think that’s as interesting a fight, if not more so, than Canelo and Crawford. And it’ll be the biggest fight ever in the history of Japan.”
Two unbeaten warriors, one nation, and the weight of legacy
I don’t know about you, but as much as I’m both excited and intrigued to see what happens when Canelo and Crawford go at it in September, the fight between Inoue, 30-0(27) and Nakatani, 30-0(23) has me far more intrigued and excited. In short, Inoue and Nakatani are in their prime (or perhaps a little bit past so in terms of 32 year old Inoue, Nakatani being 27), and Canelo and Crawford are, as we know, pushing their late 30s.
And the sheer pride Inoue and Nakatani both have will make this one a great fight, with neither man wanting to risk losing and letting their great country down. This fight will be about far more than just world titles; it will as Arum says, be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. As such, who knows how many millions, even billions of people will be tuning in on the night.
First up, Inoue has to get past mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev, while Nakatani needs to win his upcoming two-belt unification fight with yet another brilliant Japanese fighter in Ryosuke Nishida.
But all being well, we will see something truly special take place in Japan, probably at The Tokyo Dome, next year some time.
Which fight are you most excited about seeing when it comes to these two: Canelo-Crawford, or Inoue-Nakatani?