Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani set for May 2

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani has been wished for by the boxing world. Rumours have continued to swirl following both fighters appearing in separate fights on The Ring V: Night of the Samurai fight card. Many outlets had reported that Inoue vs Nakatani would happen on May 2, and now Mike Coppinger has confirmed the news that Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome.

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani set for May 2

On the latest Inside Ring Show, Mike Coppinger revealed the news we’ve all hoped for: that Naoya Inoue is set to defend his Ring and undisputed super bantamweight titles against Junto Nakatani on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome.

Last time out, both appeared on the same card, with Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) dominating against David Picasso, winning by unanimous decision, with scorecards of 120-108, 117-111, and 119-109.

Inoue controlled the distance and tempo from the first bell until the last. That was the sixth defence of his undisputed status since defeating Marlon Tapales for it in 2023.

Speaking in the post-fight press conference, Inoue reflected on his win and said:

“To be honest, it’s regrettable. Not meeting those expectations is extremely disappointing. Honestly, I really wanted to KO him. I think Picasso’s defence was just too good. That’s what it comes down to.

“Rather than talking about boxing today, I feel my concentration wasn’t there. Yeah, I wasn’t in sync with myself. That was the issue. I think I lost focus. Boxing, I wanted to do, didn’t match how I actually performed. 

“Why things turned out this way is something I need to reflect on. I’ll need to reconsider my approach going forward.”

Nakatani toughs it out against Hernandez

Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) stepped up to super bantamweight for the first time in his last fight. The Japanese fighter started brightly and soon found his range, but Hernandez soon started to pick up the tempo and walk Nakatani down. The increase in tempo from Hernandez made it difficult for the Japanese fighter, and many watching had the scorecards close at the final bell. Two judges had it 115-113, which felt a fair reflection of a close fight, before the last card of 118-110 for Nakatani was highly insulting for the performance Hernandez had delivered. 

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani, who wins and how?