It has been a weird year for Naoya Inoue. Despite still boasting an undefeated record, the boxing world is seeing a chink in his armor for the first time. Since May 2024, the ‘Monster’ has suffered two knockdowns by a left hook counter in the first two rounds of the fight—something which had never happened before.
As expected, everyone took notice, with unified bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani looking to capitalize on the occasion. However, instead of being hunted, Naoya Inoue has begun to take the initiative once more. Despite his upcoming bout with Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September, the Japanese legend has set his sights on possibly the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
According to Japanese boxing reporter ‘Tokkerū’, “Naoya Inoue has set his sights on a Junto Nakatani fight.” He took to his ‘X’ to reveal the 32-year-old’s plans after Akhmadaliev and even added an official statement by the latter.“I personally hold Nakatani Junto in high regard as a fighter, so I want to firmly focus on the super bantamweight division and aim for that fight,” Inoue declared, shutting down all the other rumors.
Naoya Inoue has set his sights on a Junto Nakatani fight
“I personally hold Nakatani Junto in high regard as a fighter, so I want to firmly focus on the super bantamweight division and aim for that fight,” pic.twitter.com/DRkvSmGDuF
— Tokkerū (@ATokkers5) July 10, 2025
The Inoue-Nakatani fight has been in the works for a while now. Inoue spoke about it earlier this year when he said, “Yes, it’s a fight that we can talk about further down the line. Right now, we both have immediate goals that don’t involve each other.” ‘Big Bang’ was the first to lay down the challenge back in May. However, he was to square off against IBF bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida, and kept the challenge rather civil. After defeating Nishida and acquiring the unified bantamweight title in June, he made his intentions clear by jumping up to Inoue’s playground at super bantamweight.
Even the 30-0 boxer embraced the heat, welcoming Nakatani to his division without showing any sign of wavering. Despite his recent defensive lapses, Naoya Inoue is the crown jewel of Japanese boxing. Junto Nakatani knows that a win over a four-division champion, undisputed super bantamweight, and one of the best pound-for-pound boxers will do wonders for his career. And according to him, this is the perfect time.
Nakatani wants the best Monster
Naoya Inoue’s second-round knockdown against Ramon Cardenas in May 2025 sent shockwaves down the boxing world. So much so that even Junto Nakatani was in disbelief. The 31-0 sat down with The Ring and acknowledged, “It was a big surprise when he(Inoue) got knocked down. It was shocking.”
‘Big Bang’ suggested that the American audience might have thrown Inoue off balance at the outset. Although the knockdown itself wasn’t alarming, Nakatani and his team understand that further delays in confronting ‘The Monster’ might diminish the significance of their potential showdown. “We would rather fight Inoue now than tomorrow, ” coach Rudy Hernandez said.
“I want to get a better version of Inoue than an older version. If we wait until next year, the excuse will be that Inoue got older. There is more credit to it if we beat him now. Anytime a fighter gets a bit older, that’s the first excuse. They’ll say, ‘It would have been different if he were younger,” the trainer concluded.
So, as things stand, the plan for Naoya Inoue is to defeat Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September and face Junto Nakatani in early 2026. If the matchup is finalised, the unified bantamweight champion would likely stay away from any more action. Which means the duo will meet in the ring with a 31-0 record, increasing the stakes of this dream matchup even more. Who is your pick?
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