Boxing

Naoya Inoue Reveals Why He Called Out Junto Nakatani

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani crossed paths at the Japanese Boxing Awards and verbally agreed to fight each other in 2026.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Naoya Inoue
Naoya Inoue | IMAGO / AFLOSPORT

Few fights fit the distinction of a super fight, but a potential bout between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani more than fits the bill.

That's why when the two Japanese stars crossed paths at the Japanese Boxing Awards on March 31 and verbally agreed to fight each other, it set the boxing world ablaze.

During the Japanese Boxing Awards, Inoue challenged Nakatani to a fight next year at the Tokyo Dome, and Nakatani was more than willing to oblige.

After his media workout in Las Vegas for his fight on May 4 against Ramon Cardenas, Inoue was asked by FightsATW's Abraham Gonzalez why he called out Nakatani. Inoue responded with a question of his own, asking the reporters in attendance if they wanted to see that fight, to which they all said yes.

"That's why," Inoue said through an interpreter.

First, though, both fighters have business to attend to before the potential super fight becomes a reality.

Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), the undisputed junior featherweight champion, will fight in the United States for the first time since 2021 when he faces Ramon Cardenas on May 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The pound-for-pound great is reportedly set to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September and could also take one more fight in the interim before potentially facing Nakatani.

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Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs), who is also on many pound-for-pound lists, is the WBC bantamweight champion and will face IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs) in a unification bout between undefeated titleholders on June 8 at the Ariake Colosseum in Japan. The dynamic southpaw hasn't fought beyond the sixth round in his last four fights.

There's no doubting the enormity of a bout between Inoue and Nakatani, and if they can win their upcoming bouts to set up a fight for all of Inoue's belts, it'll set up not just the biggest boxing match the sport has seen between two Japanese fighters, it'll arguably be the best fight that can be made in the sport by the time 2026 comes around.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero

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