It’s the all-Japanese super fight all of boxing wants to see, and it could happen as soon as next May. Naoya Inoue Vs. Junto Nakatani, the biggest fight in the history of Japanese boxing. For some months now, we’ve been talking about this fight, this showdown, and on Sunday, with his crushing stoppage win over Ryosuke Nishida, Nakatani took another big step towards making it happen.
With “Monster” Inoue watching on, southpaw Nakatani, 31-0(24) stopped Nishida on a nasty eye injury and he now holds the WBC and IBF bantamweight belts. But Inoue will fight Nakatani up at 122, where he of course holds all four world titles.
Inoue welcomes Nakatani to 122—super-bantamweight clash looms
“Welcome to the super-bantamweight division,” Inoue posted on social media, referring to Nakatani’s imminent move up a division. “It would be exciting to see such a strong Japanese fighter.”
This fight will happen, it seems inevitable so long as both men remain unbeaten. While even if Nakatani or Inoue did suffer a bump along the road, their clash would still be big. Nakatani, going by all reports, will likely move up in weight in his next fight, but he will have to wait a while for the Inoue fight, as Inoue, 30-0(27) will next accommodate WBA mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev, this in September, while there is talk of him maybe having a fight up at featherweight before the end of the year.
Road to 2026—will unbeaten records hold?
Then, after Nakatani has tested the waters at 122, the two Japanese stars (Inoue being a superstar) will hopefully get it on in 2026. Nakatani is certainly tall enough to be able to make the move up to 122 and be successful, but can he become the first man to defeat Inoue?
Both men are superb ring technicians, with power, speed, aggression, the ability to take a good shot if they have to, and a real desire for true greatness. Who wins when Inoue and Nakatani rumble with all the super-bantamweight belts on the line? Is there a bigger pound-for-pound fight in all of boxing right now?
Inoue has so far won world titles at four weights, Nakatani has ruled at three weights.
