Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani sold out the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and in the end, Inoue was able to secure the unanimous decision and retain his undisputed super bantamweight crown.
The three judges scored this one 116-112 x2 and 115-113 for Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs), who faded a bit in the second half but was able to secure a lot of the early rounds, which earned him the decision over Nakatani (32-1, 24 KOs). After the fight, Inoue did not commit to any opponent, as he wants to take some time to rest and then decide on his future.
The opening round was interesting, as both fighters stood low and exchanged jabs. Inoue slipped in two overhand rights that made Nakatani stumble a bit, off balance. Inoue applied pressure late as Nakatani stayed disciplined with his right jab.
The second round was just as intense as the first. The foot battle was apparent as Nakatani successfully placed his lead foot around Inoue’s, leading to an effective counter straight left hand by Nakatani. There was a ton of respect being shown by both fighters throughout the round.
Inoue began to dart in and out in the third round and found a home for the straight right hand to the chest and head of Nakatani. Although Inoue had a good round, Nakatani was able to maintain his ground from mid-range and landed his right jab consistently while trying to time Inoue with his left hand. In the fourth round, activity increased by both fighters as Inoue continued his straight right hand. Nakatani began to let go of his straight left hand more throughout the round as Inoue was caught off balance in a few instances.
Inoue’s timing and speed were the keys for him throughout the fifth round. Inoue kept changing the level of his right hand, forcing Nakatani to reset more often and try to land his overhand left. Nakatani landed a few straight left hands that gave Inoue something to think about. The sixth round was intense as feints ruled the round. It was another close one as Naktani landed some clean straight left hands while Inoue was able to cut the distance and land the straight right hand brilliantly.
Inoue had the first breakout round in the fight as he landed some clean shots in the seventh. It was the first time in the fight that Inoue landed an increased number of big punches. In the eighth round, Inoue’s left jab was huge and was more of a power jab. After hearing Nakatani’s corner in between rounds to let his hands go, Nakatani was on the front foot and applied a ton of pressure while landing his huge left hand.
Nakatani had a huge breakout round as he mixed his straight left hand with the left uppercut. There were moments where Nkatani’s combinations had Inoue buzzed a bit. Inoue was still able to land his right hand, but the momentum was behind Nakatani. After Nakatani was dominating the round, a clash of heads caused a cut on Nakatani’s forehead. Regardless, Naktani continued his offensive surge through the tenth round.
The blood began to affect Nakatani in the 11th, and it allowed Inoue to land his right uppercut and straight right hand with ease. Nakatani found himself covering up most of the round. Both fighters left it all in the ring throughout the last round. Inoue did just a little more with his right uppercut, which gave him the edge.
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