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

[joshj909]

Time for bam. If not, he has to go up. Nothing more to do at this weight.

Yep. Bam and Espinoza have to be part of his fairly short term plans. A Nakatani rematch wouldn't be the worst option but they can both going and take some new challenges in the mean time.

[Sendo Takeshi]

To be honest, I don't need a rematch. It was closer to 117–111 than 115–113 for me.
Also, time is running out for Inoue. 33 is pretty old for the smaller weight classes, and he looked a little strange towards the end of the fight. I'm not sure whether it was Nakatani's punches or if he was getting gassed, but it was an unusual look..

The Saudis should make those featherweights unify their titles so Inoue doesn't have to pick them up individually. On the other hand, he could probably do it in a single year anyway

[Thomastearns]

“I want to prove that I'm still Naoya Inoue."

Well, he certainly did that.

Yes, of course we're no longer seeing the one sided demolitions of yesteryear, but this is what usually happens when 2 closely matched legends fight whilst still near their peak.

Nakatani fought intelligently and stuck to his game plan throughout. I don't think he could have done any better than he did.

As for Inoue, when the crisis came, he was able to hold himself together and make sure the darkening clouds didn't break out into an uncontrollable storm.

They were always closely matched, Inoue's slight hand speed advantage vs Nakatani's age and size, that it took a bit of luck to finally separate them.

It was Nakatani who came off worse in that accidental clash of heads in the 10th and Inoue, like all great champions, took full advantage of his opportunity.

[gilgamesh]

“I want to prove that I'm still Naoya Inoue."

Well, he certainly did that.

Yes, of course we're no longer seeing the one sided demolitions of yesteryear, but this is what usually happens when 2 closely matched legends fight whilst still near their peak.

Nakatani fought intelligently and stuck to his game plan throughout. I don't think he could have done any better than he did.

As for Inoue, when the crisis came, he was able to hold himself together and make sure the darkening clouds didn't break out into an uncontrollable storm.

They were always closely matched, Inoue's slight hand speed advantage vs Nakatani's age and size, that it took a bit of luck to finally separate them.

It was Nakatani who came off worse in that accidental clash of heads in the 10th and Inoue, like all great champions, took full advantage of his opportunity.

The only question is whether or not the cut Nakatani suffered near the end of the 10th round affected his performance over those final 2. It surely seemed to, and Inoue needed at least 1 of those rounds to pull it back his way.

[Sendo Takeshi]

Seems like Inoue also injured Nakatanis eye by a punch. I guess it wasn't just the cut.
Good on Nakatani saying it.

[Sendo Takeshi]

I like how he doesn't try to fight 3-4 times a year again. Should be better for him.

[gilgamesh]

Coming off the fight he just came off of, a couple months rest is definitely in order. Bam could possibly be an even greater challenge.

[Cent0089]

I like how he doesn't try to fight 3-4 times a year again. Should be better for him.

Question is, what will he do until january? There is literally no solid name at 122 and 118 and Nakatani rematch is not so hot now. And if he move to 126 that is probably too much weight for Bam Rodriguez.

[gregregegg]

I love bam vs inoue, happy to have it next if that’s the case… would it be strait 122? Or like 120?

I kinda think….

Bam should fight his brother at 118, if bam wins then fight real inoue. …

Inoue…. If he is fighting bam January I’d like him to to fight again inbetween… but honesty not the hardest matchup… could you pull off choclatito at 122? Or a 120 catchweight? Should have happened years and weights ago, but is that still a big fight?

[joshj909]

I like how he doesn't try to fight 3-4 times a year again. Should be better for him.

Question is, what will he do until january? There is literally no solid name at 122 and 118 and Nakatani rematch is not so hot now. And if he move to 126 that is probably too much weight for Bam Rodriguez.

Will any of the guys at 126 come down to face him at 122? Espinoza, Figueroa, Carrington, Ball, Aleem/Leo? Jose Tito Sánchez at 122? Nakatani rematch? Tsutsumi moving up from 118? Nishida and Goodman might face off to be IBF mandatory?

Those are his only options really unless he takes a bit of a gimme fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Nakatani fractures left orbital bone in loss to Inoue

Junto Nakatani fractured his left orbital bone during his unanimous-decision defeat against undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue on Saturday at Tokyo Dome, according to a report from Yahoo Japan.

Nakatani was cut near his left eyebrow in the 10th round after an accidental headbutt. Inoue amplified the pressure in the 11th to land a fight-high 24 punches and throw a fight-high 68 punches, many of which were right hands targeting Nakatani’s left eye.

The offensive onslaught left Nakatani (32-1, 27 KOs) wincing and on the defensive midway through the round, as Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) piled on the pressure in the championship rounds to separate himself as the clear winner.

The captivating clash between pound-for-pound entrants was even on one scorecard heading into the 11th, and Naktani was down two points and four points on the others before Inoue closed the show in style to win via scores 115–113, 116–112 and 116–112.

"I have a few injuries, but I'll heal up properly and fight again," Nakatani said on social media shortly after the fight. "Thank you so much for all the support. It was so much fun."

[Ruthless-RKO]

The Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani fight has broken the all-time domestic PPV record across all combat sports in Japan

“I can’t disclose the exact numbers, but it became the top PPV-selling event across all boxing and combat sports promotions." - Promoter Hideyuki Ohashi

Via (@nikkansports)

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani has become the 4th HIGHEST SELLING GATE IN BOXING HISTORY WITH 32M

Surpassing Canelo vs GGG at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with 27.1 Million Gate in 2017

Inoue/Nakatani also had a reported 55K in attendance

Per: @jedigoodman

[joshj909]

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani has become the 4th HIGHEST SELLING GATE IN BOXING HISTORY WITH 32M

Surpassing Canelo vs GGG at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with 27.1 Million Gate in 2017

Inoue/Nakatani also had a reported 55K in attendance

Per: @jedigoodman

And all that without fake beef, a soap opera and while being small guys and the fight outside the US. I thought you couldn't be a star unless you cracked the US and sold out an arena in Vegas?

[gilgamesh]

I think the days of "You have to make it big in the U.S. or you haven't made it" are pretty much over. Especially for International fighters.

The Market for the Sport is healthier in other locales at this point. Hopefully the U.S. has a great Champion come along that renews interest in the sport. A great talent usually always brings in new fans.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Some American fans out there thinking.

“But.. but.. they’re not big guys… they’re not heavyweights… it didn’t take place in the US”

[Cent0089]

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani has become the 4th HIGHEST SELLING GATE IN BOXING HISTORY WITH 32M

Surpassing Canelo vs GGG at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with 27.1 Million Gate in 2017

Inoue/Nakatani also had a reported 55K in attendance

Per: @jedigoodman

WOW

[Ruthless-RKO]

Naoya Inoue Vs Junto Nakatani Hits $30M Gate, 500K PPVs Early


500K+ Japan buys and record gate underline dominance, but 3 AM ET slot limits U.S. reach as featherweight move looms

Naoya Inoue’s May 2 Tokyo Dome win over Junto Nakatani generated more than $30 million at the gate and over 500,000 domestic buys, confirming his control of the Japanese market. The 3:00 AM ET broadcast limited U.S. reach, tightening pressure on a move to 126 lbs where new champions and bigger fights await.

“Yahoo Japan confirms our previous report: over 30 million dollars in box office for the Tokyo Dome event at the Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani card,” said analyst JuliusJulianis on his X account.

“And from PPVs, they had already sold more than 500000 on Thursday at 40 USD each, so they would probably sell quite a bit more, 800k PPVs.”



In the U.S., the fight was tucked behind a standard subscription rather than a PPV, likely to mitigate the impact of the early morning start time. Early streaming data suggests a sharp spike and drop pattern, with viewership peaking only during the final four rounds when East Coast fans began waking up.

Without the marketing push of a primetime Las Vegas slot, the 122-pound undisputed clash remained a niche interest. Most casual fans were occupied with the David Benavidez vs. Gilberto Ramirez cruiserweight bout later that evening, which served as the primary focus for Western media.

The event was a financial triumph of $30M+ in gate and 500k+ domestic buys, but it didn’t move the needle in the U.S. For Inoue to truly conquer the West, he may need to stop being the A-side in the Tokyo Dome and start being the challenger at 126 lbs against the lions of the featherweight division.

[Sendo Takeshi]

Some American fans out there thinking.

“But.. but.. they’re not big guys… they’re not heavyweights… it didn’t take place in the US”

Casuals will always find a way to hate and ignore the facts anyway.

"He never fights in the US" (he has), "he never fights real contenders" (he almost always does), "he doesn't fight black people" (he has).

Apparently, the next guy he "has" to beat is Super Lightweight Shakur... who cares that Inoue is a former Light Flyweight...

[Ruthless-RKO]

"He never fights in the US" (he has), "he never fights real contenders" (he almost always does), "he doesn't fight black people" (he has).

Apparently, the next guy he "has" to beat is Super Lightweight Shakur... who cares that Inoue is a former Light Flyweight...

There was a huge meltdown on boxing twitter before, during and after his fight with Fulton.

it was hilarious!!

[Sendo Takeshi]

"He never fights in the US" (he has), "he never fights real contenders" (he almost always does), "he doesn't fight black people" (he has).

Apparently, the next guy he "has" to beat is Super Lightweight Shakur... who cares that Inoue is a former Light Flyweight...

There was a huge meltdown on boxing twitter before, during and after his fight with Fulton.

it was hilarious!!

If I had known this before, I would've downloaded the App

[Ruthless-RKO]

Nakatani's coach reveals mistake leading to Inoue loss

Upon returning home to Los Angeles, Junto Nakatani’s career-long coach Rudy Hernandez recounted his biggest regret by not instructing his charge to dial up the pressure much sooner during their unanimous decision loss to Naoya Inoue on Saturday in Japan.

They engaged in a high-level chess match for the first third of the fight, before Nakatani kicked the fight into second gear to make it an enthralling encounter as he challenged the undisputed junior featherweight king.

“I am very proud of Junto’s performance,” Hernandez told The Ring. “After putting thought into it, I believe that I probably failed Junto by holding him back in the first few rounds of the fight. It was my doing to have him start the way that he did.

“During the fight, I know that Junto listens to me and will do what’s asked of him, and he doesn’t question it. The reason [our initial plan] went longer than it should have was that I knew Inoue has very good IQ, speed and power — he’s the entire package. My whole thing was to try and stay one step behind so that we can catch him once Inoue got close using his speed. But during the fight, it turned out that Junto was just as fast as Inoue.

“It wasn't about fighting. It was about trying to be in control and working on timing to catch Inoue. That was the plan. We didn't want to lose any rounds. We made it a fight, but we started too late. You live and learn.”

Nakatani lost the first four rounds on the scorecards and eventually dropped the decision by scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112.

Nakatani (32-1, 27 KOs) had tremendous success from Rounds 5-10 before getting his left orbital bone broken in the 11th from an uppercut.

“Every round was very competitive and probably could have gone either way,” Hernandez said. “Once Junto got going, you saw the momentum he built, and he was looking really solid. That was part of the plan as well.

“The headbutt in the 10th that caused a cut near his left eyebrow didn’t factor in the result of the fight, but the uppercut that broke Junto’s orbital bone early on in the 11th did change the outcome of the fight. You saw that Junto was hurt and went straight into defensive mode, but he didn’t tell me until after the fight that he had hurt his eye. Until the eye injury, Junto was on a roll, everything was working and his confidence was growing. He was taking it to Inoue.”

Hernandez said their strategy would be different in a much-desired sequel and lead to more favorable results.

“There's no secret to it — the rematch would be Round 13, and we wouldn’t be in a feeling-out process and showing the same respect that we had for this fight,” he said. “We know that we are extremely competitive now, that we can beat him — now more than ever. I have a lot of respect for Inoue. I consider him to be the best fighter in the world. Congratulations to him for winning the decision. The right guy won, but there is a but …

“It would be honorable if Inoue gave us a rematch. It would be no different than how he gave Nonito Donaire a rematch. Junto is worthy of a rematch.”

Immediately after the fight, conversation quickly shifted to a potential fight between Inoue and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, The Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO 115-pound champion who’s getting ready to make his 118-pound debut against Antonio Vargas on June 13.

Hernandez said that if Rodriguez wants to get his feet wet at 122 pounds, he should fight Nakatani first to earn the right to fight Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs). He added that Rodriguez wouldn’t reach a fight against Inoue because Nakatani would blast him inside eight rounds, doubling down on a similar statement he made last year.

“I believe that by Inoue giving us the rematch, he'd make more money, and it'd be a bigger event in Japan than with him fighting Rodriguez,” said Hernandez. “I hope it happens. I also believe that the rematch is more feasible — let’s do it in December, and let the better man win.”

[Sendo Takeshi]

Nakatani and his coach take this defeat very good.
They can collect the belts after Inoue goes up.

[Evander]

NI