Naoya Inoue will be Junto Nakatani‘s biggest fan for the next few months.
His reason is simple: As long as they both win, a superfight will be upon us.
For months, Inoue and the rest of the world knew a matchup between them was within reach. To get it closer to the finish line, Nakatani recently relinquished his WBC and IBF bantamweight titles and announced he’d be moving up to Inoue’s 122-pound division.
The two will now share real estate on the same December 27 card at Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nakatani will make his divisional debut against Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (20-0, 18 KOs) while Inoue, a Riyadh Season ambassador, will look to retain his undisputed titles once more against David Picasso in the main event.Earlier this month, former world titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev attempted to ruin everything. Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) boxed circles around him in Nagoya, Japan, en route to a comfortable points victory.
Watching closely in attendance was Nakatani. Once Inoue’s hand was raised, the 27-year-old headed for the exit. But before he could depart, Inoue acknowledged him during his post-fight interview — much to the 17,000-strong crowd’s audible delight.
“One more win in December,” Inoue told Nakatani.
Much like Inoue, Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) has destroyed the competition. This year was no different as he brutally stopped David Cuellar Contreras and Ryosuke Nishida.
Both fighters occupy spots on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. When last updated, Inoue checked in at No. 3 while Nakatani sits four spots below him.
Should they meet, a chance to move up said rankings and Inoue’s undisputed throne would be on the line.
Before focusing on an all-Japanese clash for the ages, Inoue, 32, insists on taking care of the adversaries in front of them first.
“Let’s both do our best and make it a great show at the Tokyo Dome next year,” he said.