Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) vs Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) takes place Saturday, May 2 at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, LIVE on DAZN, with the event starting 9:00 pm local time. The result decides the undisputed super-bantamweight title and settles a meeting between two pound-for-pound level fighters at 122 pounds.
Event Details, Fight Date, Start Time and How to Watch
Event: Inoue vs Nakatani
Date: Saturday, May 2
Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Start time: 9:00 pm local / 8:00 am ET / 1:00 pm UK
How to watch: LIVE on DAZN
Tickets: Sold out
Inoue enters off a run that includes wins over Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso and has shown he can go the distance or finish when openings appear. Nakatani steps in after a stretch of stoppage wins and looks to add another title at a higher weight.
“New weight, same goal,” has been the tone from Nakatani’s side as he steps in for a fourth division title.
Full Fight Card
Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani, 12 rounds, undisputed super-bantamweight title
Takuma Inoue vs Kazuto Ioka, 12 rounds, WBC bantamweight title
Toshiki Shimomachi vs Reiya Abe, featherweights
Sora Tanaka vs Jin Sasaki, welterweights
Kosuke Tomioka vs Shogo Tanaka, flyweights
Deok No Yun vs Yuito Moriwaki, super middleweights
Yoshiki Takei vs Dekang Wang, super bantamweights
Takuma Inoue meets Kazuto Ioka in a title fight at bantamweight, adding another championship bout to the card. The undercard includes a mix of weight classes with fighters active over six to twelve rounds.
Inoue puts all belts on the line at 122 pounds and looks to hold his place at the top of the division. A win keeps him as undisputed champion and active for future title defenses.
Nakatani steps in for a fourth division title and faces a top-level opponent over 12 rounds. A win makes him undisputed champion and places him among active multi-division titleholders.
This notion that moving up a division is ‘new weight, same goal’ ignores how risky jumpers can be against naturally bigger champions. The article celebrates belts without criticizing matchmaking. Nakatani may be brave, but belts shouldn’t mask potential mismatches.
Inoue is being hyped as invincible, but the article glosses over legitimate questions about his chin and durability against pressure fighters. Nakatani’s power and momentum at a higher weight make this a competitive fight; I think Inoue is vulnerable and people underestimate Junto.