Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani press conference quotes and fight prediction

Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) will soon put his undisputed super bantamweight world championship on the line against Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs).

Their bout headlines an Ohashi Promotions card at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Fight fans in Japan can catch the action live as a pay-per-view (PPV) with Lemino. The rest of the world will be able to watch the card with a DAZN subscription.

Both men spoke at a press conference ahead of their May 2 undisputed clash. Below is some of what they had to say.

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani press conference quotes

For a portion of the press conference, click here or the play button below. Video courtesy of サンスポ YouTube channel. Note: Comments made by both men were entirely in Japanese. They were not translated into English. Rudy Hernandez, Nakatani’s trainer, does speak in English in the video below.

Fight prediction

From Big Fight Weekend’s Ricky Carroll: A mega-fight for Japanese boxing and a truly brilliant match-up for the boxing purists. Inoue is regarded by many as the pound-for-pound number one. He is a great combination puncher who wastes very little and carries that fight-ending power. His body punching is elite and has helped him break down many opponents. Inoue’s variation is also a vital attribute that keeps his opponents guessing.

Nakatani is tall and rangy, and often dominates fights by punching long and using his jab. “Big Bang” also carries a fight-ending power. He sets traps in his fights and punishes opponents with KO power. Nakatani will look to use his feet and maintain range, but if Inoue can breach his jab, it could be a long night for Nakatani. We are backing Inoue’s experience at the weight to get him the win. We back the “Monster” to win by unanimous decision.

Full fight card

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani, 12 rounds, for Inoue’s undisputed super bantamweight title

Takuma Inoue vs. Kazuto Ioka, 12 rounds, for Inoue’s WBC bantamweight title

Yoshiki Takei vs. DeKang Wang, 8 rounds, super bantamweights

Sora Tanaka vs. Jin Sasaki, 10 rounds, welterweights

Deok No Yun vs. Yuito Moriwaki, rematch, 10 rounds, super middleweights

Toshiki Shimomachi vs. Reiya Abe, 10 rounds, featherweights

Kosuke Tomioka vs. Shogo Tanaka, 10 rounds, flyweights