The super fight for the undisputed super bantamweight crown and the face of Japanese boxing is unofficially about a year away.
During a Japanese Boxing Awards ceremony that took place a few days ago highlighting Japan’s best fighters for 2024, undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) made a rare call out when he grabbed the mic and directed his comments to WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) who was sitting down on the stage near Inoue. “Nakatani, let’s take Japanese boxing to the next level at the Tokyo Dome next year,” said Inoue. Without hesitation, Nakatani got up and said, “Let’s do it.” And just like that, the super fight between two of Japan’s best fighters was verbally agreed to.
Naoya Inoue Has His Ear To The Streets
The unordinary thing about what took place at the Japanese Boxing Awards was that Inoue called out Nakatani, which is something he has never done with any other fighter he’s faced. It’s without a doubt that the buzz behind Nakatani has grown so much that Inoue felt the need to address a potential fight with him now rather than later. Most would perceive that someone at Inoue’s level lives in an artificial bubble while not really paying attention to fighters coming up, especially ones that aren’t even in his weight class, but Nakatani is DIFFERENT.
Making his debut in 2015 as a minimumweight fighter, Nakatani blew through the ranks and captured his first world title at flyweight in 2020. Three years later, Nakatani captured the WBO super flyweight title after beating Andrew Moloney via a 12th-round knockout. Nakatani then captured the WBC bantamweight title in February 2024 when he knocked out Alexandro Santiago in the sixth round of their fight. Nakatani would make three title defenses, but all his opponents would not hear the final bell. The buzz created after those performances was too loud for Inoue to ignore.
Then came the constant questions about when he would fight Nakatani. In a few instances, he kept saying the fight would be something he would explore next year, but those answers didn’t keep the media from continuing to ask about the potential super fight. Inoue finally decided to address it on the biggest stage and answer the question everyone kept asking. Inoue can now focus on his next two fights, and there will be even more interest in them as the third fight ideally would be the one against Nakatani.
Is It Too Early To Get Excited About The Potential Inoue-Nakatani Super Fight?
If you follow boxing long enough, you’ll realize that whenever there is some sort of an agreement for a fight that every fan wants to see, but it’s set for a date down the road, you don’t hold your breath because anything can happen. This situation is no different.
Inoue has a fight on May 4 against Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) in Las Vegas, NV, but the oddsmakers have the undisputed super bantamweight champion a heavy betting favorite, making the fight more so a showcase. Supporting that thought is the fact that ESPN will be televising the fight right after the Dodgers Sunday Night Baseball game. There likely isn’t a scenario where Inoue doesn’t win, but you just never know with boxing.
Then his next fight will be in the fall, which will likely be against former unified bantamweight world champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs), which is a hard fight for Inoue. That is no easy win, and MJ could play spoiler very easily, making the Nakatani fight an afterthought.
With regard to Nakatani, he currently doesn’t have a fight scheduled, but does he make one more title defense and wait until the Inoue fight? I can see Nakatani making either another title defense or facing one of the other champions in the division next. Then he would move up to super bantamweight and face a solid opponent at 122 to get acclimated to the weight class. Then, go into the Inoue fight as a legit 122-pounder.
Inoue-Nakatani: A Way Too Early Prediction
🚨‼️Inoue and Naktani shake hands and give a verbal agreement to fight‼️🚨
“Inoue:
Nakatani, let’s hype up Japanese boxing at the Tokyo Dome one year from now.Nakatani:
“Absolutely, let’s do it!”Per Big Eventer#Boxing#BOXINGnBBQ
— BOXING n BBQ (@BOXINGnBBQ) March 31, 2025
It’s hard to break down a fight that is a year away, as plenty can happen, but looking at the fight right now based on their skills and style, I think Nakatani would be the fighter to hand Inoue the first loss of his career. Nakatani’s technique is excellent, and Inoue could get caught with something coming in as he did against Luis Nery. Inoue is a great fighter and future hall of famer, but at likely 33 when they fight, Nakatani would have youth and athleticism on his side, which will see him come out victorious.
It’s hard to ignore thinking about this fight, so for the next 12 months, all of the fans and media will be debating Inoue vs. Nakatani, so get ready for some arguments that support both men coming away with the win.
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