Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani | DAZN - 2 May 2026

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ANNOUNCED: Takuma Inoue will defend his WBC bantamweight world title against Kazuto Ioka on the undercard of Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani, May 2nd at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

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Naoya Inoue-Junto Nakatani, Takuma Inoue-Kazuto Ioka is now set

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani met face-to-face to formally announce the biggest all-Japanese fight in the nation’s rich boxing history.

A press conference was held Friday to confirm boxing’s worst-kept secret: Inoue, 32-0 (27 KOs), will risk his lineal, Ring and undisputed 122lbs championship, while Nakatani, 32-0 (24 KOs), will bid to become a four-division champion. Their superfight will top a May 2 blockbuster event to air live on Lemino pay-per-view from the Tokyo Dome in Japan.


U.S. distribution rights weren’t immediately revealed during the presser. The full undercard, however, was revealed. Among the supporting clashes will be a terrific bantamweight clash between WBC titleholder Takuma Inoue and former four-division titlist Kazuto Ioka.

The Inoues, Nakatani and Ioka were on stage Friday, along with their respective teams, to create an historic moment for the Japanese media.

Takuma is Naoya’s younger brother by two years and a two-time bantamweight title claimant. He previously held the WBA title and won the WBC belt in a 12-round decision victory over Tenshin Nasukawa last November 24 in Tokyo.

Ioka, 32-4-1 (17 KOs), became the first male boxer from Japan to win major titles in four weight divisions. He beat Naoya to the feat by four years, having won belts at 105lbs, 108lbs, 112lbs and 115lbs.

Nakatani has the chance to become just the third ever on that list and fourth overall to win belts in at least four weight divisions. Recently elected Hall of Fame member Naoko Fujioka is the nation’s only boxer – regardless of gender – to accomplish the feat.

Ioka can become Japan’s first male boxer to win five divisional titles should he beat the younger Inoue. He rebounded from back-to-back defeats to then-unbeaten Fernando Martinez with a win at bantamweight last New Year’s Eve at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Friday’s session capped a year’s worth of anticipation that the fight had a significant chance to become a reality. Inoue and Nakatani spoke it into existence last year during the 2024 Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) awards.

They met again during this year’s awards ceremony, where Inoue won his eighth consecutive Fighter of the Year award, while Nakatani was also honored for Best Skill, an award shared with Takuma Inoue. The pair of pound-for-pound entrants were happy to report that they honored their word.

“We were both able to fulfill our promises,” Inoue said during this year’s ceremony. “In May this year, at Tokyo Dome, I'll clash head-on with Junto Nakatani.

“Everyone, please make sure to witness that courageous showdown.”

Inoue’s 2025 campaign represented the most active male boxer at the top of the sport. He made four successful championship defenses on the year, the busiest of any male lineal champion since Brian Mitchell’s 1987 campaign, when he was the recognized lineal and WBA 130lbs king.

Nakatani’s 2025 campaign jumped out to a strong enough start that he was selected as the mid-year leader for BS’s Fighter of the Year race. He earned stoppage wins over David Cuellar and unbeaten countryman Ryosuke Nishida, the latter of which saw Nakatani unify the WBC and IBF 118lbs titles in just the fourth-ever unification bout between reigning titlists from Japan.

The win over Nishida was also Nakatani’s final fight at bantamweight, where he won the WBC belt in February 2024 and scored knockout wins in each of his five fights at the weight.

Shortly thereafter, Nakatani took the most significant step towards making the Inoue fight a reality when he declared that he was set to campaign in the 122lbs division.

His debut came in the chief support to Inoue’s most recent title defense, when they both appeared on the December 27 “Japan vs. the World” card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Inoue turned away unbeaten contender Alan David Picasso via unanimous decision just three months after he outpointed former unified titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Nakatani’s night was considerably more exciting, as he suffered cuts and bruising while barely outlasting Mexico’s Sebastian Hernandez over 12 grueling rounds.

Nakatani previously unified two titles at bantamweight, then exited the division at a perfect 6-0 (6 KOs) – all in title fights. He has also held major titles at flyweight and junior bantamweight.

Inoue won his first strap in 2014, when he blasted out Adrian Hernandez in the sixth round of their WBC 108lbs title. By year’s end, he was already a two-division titlist after ending the lengthy reign of WBO 115lbs title claimant Omar Narvaez via second-round knockout.

In 2018 came a move to bantamweight, where Inoue held a secondary version of the WBA title before he became a true three-division titleholder following a May 2019 early knockout of Emmanuel Rodriguez. He went on to fully unify at bantamweight, capped by a December 2022 late stoppage of Paul Butler to become Japan’s first-ever undisputed champion in the three- or four-belt era.

His run at 122lbs has added to the historic stretch enjoyed by the all-time great.

Inoue is the only Asian boxer ever to claim two-division undisputed championship status, and has ruled junior featherweight with an iron fist since his July 2023 knockout of unbeaten WBC/WBO titlist Stephen Fulton Jnr. A win over Marlon Tapales added the IBF and WBA chips, along with 2023 Fighter of the Year honors.

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Inoue ready for improved Nakatani after shaky divisional debut

Ring and undisputed junior featherweight king Naoya Inoue is happy that a much-anticipated Junto Nakatani megafight was finally confirmed at their inaugural press conference Friday.

The defending champion (32-0, 27 KOs) set the wheels in motion for a future fight last year, calling out his fellow multi-weight star at the JBC awards ceremony. Both promised to remain undefeated and despite a scare along the way in the final days of 2025 abroad on Saudi shores, May 2 at Japan's Tokyo Dome now can't come soon enough.

Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) was given a rough welcome to the junior featherweight division, eeking past a spirited Sebastian Hernandez showing on the Ring V card topped by Inoue's one-sided title defense against Alan Picasso on December 27.

"I saw the fight in Saudi and against an opponent like that, can really rate it [Nakatani's performance] highly. It's made Junto a stronger boxer, so I'll be on my toes and ready to go on fight night," Inoue said when asked about the skilled southpaw.

Bullish as expected in response, Nakatani insisted he has more to show after some defensive vulnerabilities were laid bare during what many believed to be a showcase offering against the unheralded Hernandez.

"I've managed to get to this point undefeated so all that is left is to become world champion [in another division]. I want to make it the best match possible, will be happy if everyone can come and watch. I've learned a lot from the [Dec. 27] fight, been able to grow a lot by facing that and you'll see just how much I have on May 2."

Rudy Hernandez, Nakatani's LA-based coach, has been vocal about snaring this Inoue fight at the right time before 'The Monster' declines to diminish the sense of achievement.

Inoue enters this after consecutive decision victories for the first time in his 14-year pro career and suffered knockdowns en route to rallying stoppage victories against Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas in successive years.

Nonetheless, Hernandez struck a more respectful tone in acknowledging the size of the task at hand for his charge, four years Inoue's junior and another tall foe.

"I really believe he [Nakatani] will have to come with his best abilities and needs everything to beat Naoya, who I consider the world's best fighter right now. The best fighting the best."

Full card details

- Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) vs. Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) for Inoue's Ring, undisputed 126-pound world titles
- Takuma Inoue (21-2, 5 KOs) vs. Kazuto Ioka (32-4-1, 17 KOs) for Inoue's WBC 118-pound world title
- Featherweight: Toshiki Shimomachi (22-1-3, 12 KOs) vs. Reiya Abe (28-4-2, 10 KOs)
- Welterweight: Sora Tanaka (5-0, 5 KOs) vs. Jin Sasaki (20-2-1, 18 KOs)
- Flyweight: Kosuke Tomioka (11-4, 8 KOs) vs. Shogo Tanaka (5-0, 3 KOs)
- Super middleweight: Deok No Yun (10-2-1, 8 KOs) vs. Yutio Moriwaki (1-0-1)
- Bantamweight, 8 rounds: Yoshiki Takei (11-1, 9 KOs) vs. Dekang Wang (9-1, 3 KOs)

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DAZN has stated across social media that Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani will be streamed LIVE on DAZN

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Inside Junto Nakatani’s planned takedown of Naoya Inoue

The respect is deep. The intention to achieve victory is fiercer.

As the days dwindle leading up to the most massive bout ever to be staged in Japan, waged between two of the country’s most accomplished champions, the cultural knack to keep things simple and humble can effectively be reduced to the above sentences.

Naoya Inoue is hailed by Junto Nakatani trainer Rudy Hernandez as the world’s best fighter and the top Japanese boxer of all time. But after guiding the younger, taller and rising Nakatani through his training camp here, Hernandez made clear two things can be true at once.

“It’s one thing to respect the fighter, but when the bell rings, we’re going to go in there and try to knock his head off,” Hernandez said. “We can’t settle for anything less than winning. Winning, to us, means everything.”

A sellout crowd of 55,000 is expected at the Tokyo Dome on May 2 when four-division champion and mythical pound-for-pound king Inoue, 32-0 (27 KOs), meets three-division champion Nakatani, 32-0 (24 KOs), for the undisputed junior featherweight championship on DAZN.

On Monday, the left-handed Nakatani, 28, worked through a series of movements and rapid positioning and punching drills all aimed to penetrate the shield and complicate the bout for the older Inoue, 33, who has been knocked down in two of his past six bouts.

“The advantage [Nakatani] has is his height and reach, and the fact he’s a little younger,” Hernandez said. “Other than that, it’s about who’s going to land first, who’s the quicker of the two, and who’s going to be able to better take the punches.”

Nakatani demonstrated complete control during his positioning drills, flashing a smile to Hernandez during the sequence as if to confirm full readiness for the bout as they prepare to leave L.A. for Tokyo on Friday.

“I’m very much looking forward to it, and I believe I can deliver a performance that will satisfy all 55,000 spectators,” Nakatani told BS after his workout.

“I believe boxing is a sport that can move people’s hearts deeply, and for me, there's a significant meaning to that.”

Nakatani has trained with Hernandez in Los Angeles since the age of 14, fulfilling the veteran cornerman’s lifelong ambition to guide a young amateur all the way to a million-dollar purse, which Nakatani accomplished in December by defeating Mexico’s Sebastian Hernandez in a surprisingly competitive bout in Saudi Arabia.

Hernandez has trained fighters since the 1980s, when he cornered his late brother, Genaro Hernandez, to two junior lightweight title reigns during the 1990s.

In this camp, Nakatani has worked on advancing his movement and boosting his versatility, which features crisp power, rapid footwork and lightning-fast hand speed, in the effort to solve the amazingly fast destructive power puncher Inoue. With 3ins height and 1in reach advantages, the upgrades could prove consequential, with Inoue being a -450 betting favorite and Nakatani a 3-to-1 underdog.

A few weeks ago, others in the gym expressed some concerns to Hernandez that Nakatani was slow to mix in the changes to effectively strengthen his repertoire.

Hernandez has told those same people, “When you’re working on something, it takes some time. … On fight night, that’s when you have to perform. Not in the gym.”

And Hernandez declared this in talking to Boxing Scene on Monday: “He’s ready. I’m looking for Junto to react to everything that Inoue does in the ring. Timing is everything. I believe Inoue to be the greatest fighter in the world nowadays, and we have our hands full. There’s a reason why he’s the favorite and why he’s the No. 1 fighter in the world, in my book.”

Asked about his training camp development, Nakatani said, “My training has been progressing smoothly, and I feel it's coming along very well. In terms of range, I feel the things that I can do have expanded, and I want to make full use of that in the fight.”

Nakatani and Inoue are peers, not friends. Hernandez knows of only one interaction of substance between the pair, when they both fought on the Saudi Arabia card.

Inoue has kept his distance, Hernandez said, the trainer speculating that’s because the proud champion has viewed Nakatani as “a threat.”

That’s why there’s deference to Inoue’s accomplishments and talent – but also a yearning to shatter the mystique.

“Of course we can win … everything that has a beginning has an ending,” Hernandez said. “Once you’ve made it to the top, you can’t go no further than that. Today, you’re No. 1. Tomorrow, someone else will be No. 1.”

The odds might reflect that Nakatani had such difficulty with the heavy-handed Sebastian Hernandez, who was edged by two 115-113 scorecards.

Trainer Hernandez said two things should be noted about that outcome, including the fact Sebastian Hernandez is a career-long junior featherweight, not a career-starting minimumweight fighter making his debut in the weight class, as Nakatani was.

Additionally, Rudy Hernandez revealed this: “A lot of people don’t know Sebastian Hernandez was there training in Japan with Naoya Inoue for one week, and they got rid of him, supposedly saying he was not that good.

“You think he wasn’t good? Maybe he was too damn good. So why take the risk against a guy as good as he is? Sebastian Hernandez could be fighting tomorrow as a 135-pounder. Junto has moved up from 108lbs … there’s a big difference.

“I watched the fight to see what we could do better. Being as honest as I can, I had it 7-5 Junto. He landed the punch that stood out in the close rounds. He won the fight.”

Nakatani made clear he’s moving on to the greater task.

“The last fight is out there in the public … so I don’t have any comments on that, but I'll let the next fight speak for itself,” Nakatani said. “I’m in great shape, so I’ll do everything I can to perform at more than 100 per cent. Ultimately, we’ll find out in May.”

Away from the ring and this current obsession of Inoue, Nakatani takes joy in ocean fishing, reeling in rockfish amid the quiet.

“I like fishing because it’s something that allows me to clear my mind,” he said.

That silence contrasts so severely with the coming din of walking to the ring for Inoue, with 55,000 roaring for the expected firefight on a global stage.

“Everybody knows this is going to be the biggest fight in Japan’s history. We’re going in with intention to knock him out, just like Inoue wants to do to Junto. When the bell rings, it will be Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani fighting it out, and that’s what we want,” said Hernandez, expressing confidence in his fighter’s ability to thrive in the moment. “He’s really good at it. Nobody challenges himself more than he does. I’m sure Inoue feels the same. I feel, at the end of the day, it’s all about who can execute first.”

And although the respectful and humble approach are profound by comparison to some prizefights, make no mistake about how immense this pursuit of victory has become.

“If we can knock out Inoue and beat him, I can die the next day and life does not owe me anything,” Hernandez said. “Everything that I have looked to be or accomplish, I will have accomplished.”

[Spud MK2]

I have absolutely no doubts its going to be a fantastic fight.

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Spud here flexing with all his pics.

Teach a man a trick and he'll overdo it

glad you sorted it Spud

[Spud MK2]

Spud here flexing with all his pics.

Teach a man a trick and he'll overdo it :lol:

glad you sorted it Spud

😉

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Inoue, Nakatani pass WBC's 14-day pre-weigh-in requirements

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani will officially weigh in on May 1 for their scheduled fight on May 2, and on Friday, the headliners for the superfight at Tokyo Dome in Japan successfully completed their 14-day pre-weigh-in, as conducted by the WBC.

Inoue, the undisputed junior featherweight champion, weighed in at 127.64 pounds while Nakatani was not too far away at 127.53, the WBC announced.

“The WBC recognizes the professionalism of both fighters, who completed their 14-day pre-weigh-in, demonstrating that they are in excellent condition for this important bout,” the sanctioning body said in a statement.

The WBC conducts several weigh-in checks throughout the fights it sanctions, including 30-day, 14-day and 7-day weigh-ins. During the WBC weight checks, a fighter cannot weigh more than 10% of a contracted weight at 30 days, 5% at 14 days and 3% at seven days.

Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) is The Ring's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter and is coming off a unanimous decision against David Picasso to headline a Ring event on December 27 in Saudi Arabia.

In the co-main event of “The Ring V: Night of the Samurai” show, Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs), the No. 7 P4P fighter, made his 122-pound debut and outlasted Sebastian Hernandez in a firefight by unanimous decision.

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Fight Week!!

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Sold out!!

https://www.boxinginsider.com/headlines ... an-boxing/

[CaptainSpacerod]

Fight Week!!

What time will the main event be at Ruthie ?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Week!!

What time will the main event be at Ruthie ?

In the UK.. I wanna say around 1pm … I’ll know more closer to the time.

[CaptainSpacerod]

[Oiky]

Gonna be some fight this

[gilgamesh]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

[The Law]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

I can't think of any. This fight has Zarate v Zamora vibes

[joshj909]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

I think Mayweather Vs Canelo was 29 which is the highest I could find. Calzaghe and Crawford managed to get into the 20s but not 30s. Had a look at a few others which you would have thought were higher but weren't.

[JamesPhilips]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

That’s a pretty incredible statistic…. Can’t see that being beaten in my lifetime.

Anyone picking Nakatami and why?

[gilgamesh]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

I think Mayweather Vs Canelo was 29 which is the highest I could find. Calzaghe and Crawford managed to get into the 20s but not 30s. Had a look at a few others which you would have thought were higher but weren't.

Thanks for taking the time to look into it.

[joshj909]

Have 2 unbeaten fighters ever come into a fight with 37 Championship victories between them before? If so who? Genuine question.

I think Mayweather Vs Canelo was 29 which is the highest I could find. Calzaghe and Crawford managed to get into the 20s but not 30s. Had a look at a few others which you would have thought were higher but weren't.

Thanks for taking the time to look into it.

AI was pretty awful at helping but I was trying to find guys who went undefeated or had a lot of title fights whilst undefeated and looked for undefeated opponents who had also been champs. There's probably a few others with a higher number than the ones I found but I don't think any would beat Inoue and Nakatani.

[gilgamesh]

How many would De La Hoya and Trinidad have had between them?

That and Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor are the only others I could think of that could even MAYBE approach Nakatani and Inoue, and I think both would still fall short.

[joshj909]

How many would De La Hoya and Trinidad have had between them?

That and Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor are the only others I could think of that could even MAYBE approach Nakatani and Inoue, and I think both would still fall short.

De la Hoya and Trinidad was 35!

Chavez and Taylor was 21.

I'm basing these on Boxrec or Wiki records so if they're not highlighted as a title fight then I've not counted it. Some of these had fights between their defences that didn't seem to count as defences (I didn't check weightclasses).

[gilgamesh]

So it seems like this may well be the most ever then. De La Hoya vs Trinidad is probably going to be the record they're topping. They haven't topped it though until the bell rings, and it becomes official.

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Ioka views 'excellent' Takuma Inoue fight like its his last

Kazuto Ioka has enjoyed an outstanding career and been a cornerstone within the lighter weight divisions for over a decade.

The 37-year-old isn't done yet and will look to add a the WBC bantamweight title to his long list of accolades when taking on Takuma Inoue at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to face him at this point in my boxing career," Ioka (32-4-1, 17 KOs) told The Ring.

"I believe he is an excellent boxer with very high boxing skills."

The fight, an excellent one in its own right, will serve as chief support to Ring and undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani in a much-anticipated battle of two pound-for-pound stars.

"I feel honored to be able to fight on such a big stage with this level of attention," he said. "I approach every fight as if it could be my last, and I want to continue for as long as possible."

Ioka snapped a two-fight losing streak to then-WBA titlist Fernando Martinez when stepping up to bantamweight, fighting on his customary December 31 date, which he has done on 14 occasions during his career to date.

Ioka, who walks around at 132-pounds, was able to comfortably stop Maikel Ordosgoitti in four rounds and felt invigorated at the new weight.

"I felt very good both in my preparation and in the fight itself," he said. "Rather than feeling that it has become easier, I believe it has allowed me to improve the quality of my training."

Having won world titles at strawweight, junior flyweight, flyweight and junior bantamweight he hopes to become the first male Japanese fighter to do so in a fifth weight class.

"I believe this will mark an important page in history, both in my own life and for Japanese boxing," he said. "I believe that life is about continuing to challenge myself in the things I am truly committed to.

"To keep going, you need goals and once you achieve them, you set new ones and continue to challenge yourself again. It's not easy, but by staying committed to this path, I've been able to reach where I am today."

Usually before a fight, Ioka heads to Las Vegas and works with Ismael Salas. However, this time he has remained at home.
"I have been training seriously for about two months," he explained. "Trainer [Shuhei] Sasaki is working with me directly, and Trainer Salas is also guiding me online and through regular communication.

"Since my last fight, I have continued building on my training and working to improve my quality even further."

Inoue (21-2, 5 KOs), The Ring's No. 3-rated bantamweight, worked his way up before Nordine Oubaali outpointed him over 12 rounds to lose his unbeaten record in November 2019.

The 30-year-old picked up the vacant WBA title with a 12-round points win over Liborio Solis and made two defenses, including a career-best scalp when halting former junior bantamweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas (KO 9).

Seiya Tsutsumi outpointed him to snatch the title away in October 2024, though he claimed the vacant WBC strap on November 24 when outsmarting Tenshin Nasukawa to the tune of a 12-round decision.