{"id":422757,"date":"2026-05-03T04:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T04:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/422757\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T04:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T04:14:19","slug":"naoya-inoue-outshines-junto-nakatani-in-tokyo-showdown-to-keep-super-bantamweight-title-naoya-inoue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/422757\/","title":{"rendered":"Naoya Inoue outshines Junto Nakatani in Tokyo showdown to keep super-bantamweight title | Naoya Inoue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naoya Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super-bantamweight championship with a close but uncontroversial 12-round unanimous decision<\/a> over Junto Nakatani in their eagerly anticipated showdown at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Before a sellout crowd of about 55,000 spectators during Japan\u2019s Golden Week holiday, Inoue held off a fierce late surge from his unbeaten rival to win by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and retain the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts at 122lb, extending his perfect record in what had been billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history<\/a>. (The Guardian had it 115-113 for Inoue.)<\/p>\n

The four-division world champion nicknamed the Monster had spoken during fight week about wanting to \u201cprove that I\u2019m still Naoya Inoue\u201d, perhaps a nod to the whispers of his purported decline. But the 33-year-old showed why he remains one of the world\u2019s best fighters regardless of weight \u2013 if not the outright pound-for-pound king \u2013 by getting the better of a taller, longer, younger challenger seen as his most dangerous opponent in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 33 now and I was fighting against a Japanese fighter who\u2019s coming up in the pound-for-pound rankings, so I was determined not to lose,\u201d Inoue said afterwards. \u201cIt was different to the fights I\u2019ve had before, with the pressure. So I\u2019m relieved that I won.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the opening bell, the magnitude of the occasion seemed to settle over the arena. The vast dome fell under an almost complete silence in the first round, the crowd absorbed by both fighters as they took one another\u2019s measure. Inoue was the first to impose himself, edging forward behind a sharp jab that allowed him to slip inside and disrupt Nakatani\u2019s rhythm. The challenger spent much of the round on the back foot, briefly thrown off balance at one point. While few punches landed cleanly, the early initiative belonged to the champion.<\/p>\n

That pattern held through the opening frames. Inoue\u2019s hand speed and footwork were immediately apparent, his ability to dart in and out of range giving Nakatani pause. Both men probed with the jab through the third with Nakatani looking to counter when Inoue stepped into the pocket, but the exchanges largely favored the champion.<\/p>\n

The fight took place before a crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome. Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cNaoya is quite good learner,\u201d Nakatani later said when pressed on his passive opening, which saw all three ringside judges score the first four rounds for Inoue. \u201cHe learns a lot in such a short period of time. I didn\u2019t want to disclose everything I had in the early rounds, so that\u2019s why I fought that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fight settled into a tactical rhythm through the middle stages. Nakatani appeared reluctant to commit fully, wary of what might come back, while Inoue gradually increased the pace, landing the more telling shots. By the fifth, Nakatani produced his best work to that point. It was a reminder that the fight was far from one-sided, even as Inoue continued to edge ahead on the scorecards.<\/p>\n

Each time Nakatani threatened to build momentum, Inoue had an answer. When the challenger found space to work in the sixth, the champion responded in kind, snapping back combinations with precision and authority. Yet Nakatani was beginning to step forward more and take on risks that he had avoided earlier.<\/p>\n

Sensing he was behind in the seventh, Nakatani pressed the action, forcing exchanges and drawing the crowd into the action. The eighth was the most compelling round to that point, both men letting their hands go in sustained firefights. Inoue\u2019s jab remained a stabilizing force, repeatedly halting Nakatani\u2019s attempts to impose himself, but the younger fighter\u2019s renewed sense of urgency was unmistakable.<\/p>\n

It paid off for him in the ninth as Nakatani surged, backing Inoue up and working in combinations with increasing confidence. A sharp uppercut followed by a left hand punctuated a strong round and he carried that momentum into a furious 10th, throwing with abandon and landing punishing blows as Inoue was forced on to the defensive in ways few of his opponents have managed.<\/p>\n

Then came the accidental clash of heads that left Nakatani with blood streaming down his face. As he tried to soldier through it, Inoue planted his feet and met him with a heavy right hand, then a crisp uppercut that snapped the challenger\u2019s head back. With blood from the cut increasingly affecting Nakatani, Inoue reasserted control with the finishing kick of a champion.<\/p>\n

Defeat does little to diminish Nakatani\u2019s standing. The three-division champion demonstrated resilience, adaptability and a willingness to push one of the sport\u2019s best fighters to the limit. Against most opponents, his second-half rally might have been enough. But Inoue is not most fighters.<\/p>\n

Naoya Inoue\u2019s entrance was soundtracked by a live band. Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI prepared for lots of different eventualities so I wasn\u2019t really surprised by the way he fought,\u201d Nakatani said. \u201cBut he fought like a champion and he\u2019s a great boxer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having defended the super-bantamweight titles for a seventh time, Inoue tightens his grip on the 122lb division and writes another chapter in a sparkling career that had crossed the Hall of Fame threshold many years ago. And while it may seem there are vanishingly few worlds left for him to conquer, a showdown with unified 115lb champion Jesse \u201cBam\u201d Rodriguez already has fans abuzz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had four fights last year and then here at the Tokyo Dome tonight and that has taken its toll, so please let me rest for a while now,\u201d Inoue said. \u201cAfter that, I\u2019ll come back and speak to my team and organize another fight that everyone can get excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Naoya Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super-bantamweight championship with a close but uncontroversial 12-round unanimous decision over Junto…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-422757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}