Junto Nakatani Says He Needs To Knock Out Naoya Inoue To Win Potential Super Fight

The hype continues to build for the inevitable clash between two of the greatest Japanese boxers in the modern era.

Junto Nakatani (left) and Naoya Inoue (right) during the JBC Annual Boxing Awards ceremony 2024. | IMAGO / AFLOSPORT

Right now, boxing fans are impatiently waiting for 2026 to come around so they can potentially witness Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani, and both boxers are adding fuel to the flame.

Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) spoke to Ring Magazine about the potential matchup with Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Inoue's last performance against Ramon Cardenas.

"Big Bang" talked about the recent knockdowns that Inoue suffered against Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and Luis Nery. He said that it's simply not enough to knock "The Monster" down.

“He has the experience from getting knocked down and getting back up and winning a fight. That’s a credit to him. If I knock him down, I have to make sure that he doesn’t get back up.”

Nakatani told Ring Magazine

Junto Nakatani lands a left hand against David Cuellar. | IMAGO/AFLOSPORT

Nakatani was one of the many boxing fans shocked when Inoue hit the canvas on May 4th. Cardenas nailed Inoue with a flush counter left hand in the second round. Although he was surprised, the current WBC bantamweight champion did expect the No. 2 Ring Magazine pound-for-pound boxer to get up and finish his opponent.

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It isn't the first time the undisputed super-bantamweight champion hit the canvas. Nery (36-2, 28 KOs) scored a knockdown in the first round against Inoue on May 6th, 2024 at the Tokyo Dome. The punch that put him down was yet another counter left hand. Inoue would go on to stop Nery in the sixth round.

Nakatani knows not to take Inoue lightly after a knockdown, adding that "The Monster" will never give up. But if there's one punch in his arsenal that's better than anything else, it's his counter left hook. Combine that with his sharp timing and power, and "Big Bang" could give Inoue trouble.

Nakatani first has to get past IBF bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs) in a unfication bout on June 8th at Ariake Colosseum in Japan.

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