Rise of the Samurai: Inoue vs Nakatani in 2026
By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 02 Apr 2025
Japanese superstar champions Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani have agreed to a clash in 2026, generating immense global interest.
Friendly towards each other, the two unbeaten powerhouses, widely regarded as Japan's best, made the announcement at “Japan's Annual Boxing Awards Ceremony” on Monday.
Inoue, turning 32 very soon, on April 10, was named “Japan's Best Male Boxer” for the 7th consecutive year.
The popular superstar defended his “Undisputed” super bantamweight title twice in 2024, knocking out Mexico's Luis Nery and stopping Ireland's TJ Doheny.
"2024 was special, and I want this year to be even better," Inoue said, praising 27-year-old Nakatani.
Politely, Inoue challenged Nakatani saying, "I want to give my best for the big national match. Mr. Nakatani, let's excite Japanese boxing together at the Tokyo Dome in 2026!"
Nakatani, the WBC bantamweight champion, agreed with a smile, "Let's do it!" The two shook hands, sealing their agreement.
Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defended his title in January and plans to fight three more times before facing Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs).
"If we both win this year, our fight could be the most exciting match in Japanese boxing history," Inoue said.
Nakatani, winner of Japan's “Best Technique” and “Japan’s KO of the Year” Awards, stated, "I need to keep developing, looking for victories with more impact."
Inoue and Nakatani are ranked 2nd and 8th in “The Ring Magazine's” pound-for-pound rankings.
However, many fans consider Naoya Inoue the current #1 P4P boxer, even P4P better that Usyk, Crawford, Canelo, and Bivol.
But the question remains: WHO would win when Inoue and Nakatani fight?
The author is veteran boxing reporter Carlos Costa of Cebu. carlos@philboxing.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.
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