Naoya Inoue’s status as boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter survived its toughest test yet. In front of 55,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome, in what was billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history, Inoue edged past fellow unbeaten star Junto Nakatani on the scorecards to retain his undisputed super bantamweight titles and extend his winning run in world title fights to 28.
Two Zeroes, One Winner
Both men walked in unbeaten at 32-0, and for long stretches it showed. Nakatani, moving up a weight division and ranked among the sport’s elite pound-for-pound fighters in his own right, closed the gap in the second half of the fight after Inoue’s fast start, making the champion work harder for a world title than he has in years. The scorecards, 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112, told the story of a fight that tightened considerably as it went on.
The Cut That Changed the Rhythm
A clash of heads in round ten opened a cut above Nakatani’s eye, disrupting the challenger’s momentum at exactly the point he had begun finding a foothold. It was a small margin, but in a fight this close it mattered, and it was enough to help see Inoue home on all three cards.
Relief, Not Celebration
Inoue’s reaction afterwards said as much about the fight as the scorecards did. “It was different to the fights I’ve had before, with the pressure,” he said. “So I’m relieved that I won.” It’s a rare admission from a fighter who has spent years making elite opposition look ordinary, and a sign of how seriously he rated the threat Nakatani posed.
Records and What’s Next
Inoue moves to 33-0 with 27 knockouts, while Nakatani’s unbeaten run ends at 32-1. The result keeps Inoue’s undisputed super bantamweight reign intact and further cements his place at or near the top of every pound-for-pound list in the sport, even if this was the closest anyone has come to beating him in years. For Nakatani, a first loss at this level doesn’t erase the case he made across twelve rounds. If anything, it’s likely to earn him a rematch clause that gets used.
