Turki Alalshikh planning Naoya Inoue ‘super fight’ for January
On May 2, at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, Naoya Inoue defeated Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision to remain the undisputed super bantamweight champion. It was a slow first few rounds, and Inoue stayed the busier, which was key for him to get the victory. After this huge win, Mike Coppinger of The Ring Magazine is reporting that Turki Alalshikh is planning a ‘super fight’ between Inoue and Jesse Bam Rodriguez.
Naoya Inoue defeats Junto Nakatani in Tokyo
The opening rounds were fairly quiet, with Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) doing slightly more than Nakatani (32-1, 24 KOs), and proving the sharper of the two, to edge these opening rounds. The action increased in the middle rounds, with Inoue having success with straight shots.
Nakatani began to open up in the later rounds, landing several heavy punches. A clash of heads in the tenth seemed to curtail Nakatani’s late charge, with Inoue enjoying success in the final two rounds. The judges’ scorecards read 116-112 (x2) and 115-113, all in favour of Naoya Inoue.
After the fight when asked about his future, Inoue said: “I think I need to rest for a little bit. I had four fights (last year) and then, this fight at Tokyo Dome tonight. I have been so busy and I’ve been spending so many intensive days. So, please give me a rest.”
“And, after a bit of a rest, I’ll discuss with Mr Ohashi and my dad about future bouts. So, please wait for a little bit.“
Turki Alashikh planning Naoya Inoue vs Jesse Bam Rodriguez
As reported by Mike Coppinger, Turki Alalshikh has identified the fight he would like to make next for Naoya Inoue, with His Excellency targeting a showdown between Inoue and Bam Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs). The hope is for them to face off for The Ring’s super bantamweight championship in January in Japan, with a venue to be decided. A special edition Ring Magazine belt will be designed for the super fight. Coppinger also mentions that Bam must defeat Antonio Vargas in June in his bantamweight debut to facilitate this “super fight” between Inoue and Bam.
