May 2 Emerges for Inoue–Nakatani at Tokyo Dome

Plans for a long-discussed bout between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani have begun to take clearer shape, with early May emerging as the intended window for a fight at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo.

The matchup has circulated for more than a year, with both fighters publicly acknowledging interest and quietly aligning their careers toward a meeting at super bantamweight. While several dates have appeared in past reporting, venue availability has narrowed the realistic options. The Tokyo Dome is booked from May 3 through May 6 for professional baseball, leaving May 2 as the workable date for a boxing event.

Inoue would enter the bout as the undisputed champion at 122 pounds. He remained active throughout 2025, recording four successful title defenses during the year before adding further wins over Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Alan David Picasso. Those performances allowed him to maintain control of the division while keeping his unbeaten record intact.

Nakatani’s path has taken a different route. He closed his time at bantamweight with a stoppage victory over Ryosuke Nishida to unify the WBC and IBF titles, then announced his intention to campaign at super bantamweight. The move placed him directly into the same division as Inoue and removed a major obstacle to the fight being made.

The southpaw made his debut at 122 pounds late last year, earning a unanimous decision over Sebastian Hernandez. The bout drew attention due to one wide scorecard and visible swelling around Nakatani’s right eye, though the outcome was not overturned and his record remained unblemished.

Both fighters later appeared on the same Riyadh Season card, further fueling discussion around a future meeting. No official announcement has been made, and contractual terms have not been disclosed publicly. Sources familiar with the situation continue to point toward early May as the intended target.

If finalized, the bout would stand as one of the most significant domestic fights in modern Japanese boxing, pairing two unbeaten champions whose careers have developed on parallel but carefully managed tracks.