Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super bantamweight title with a tight, tense but ultimately assured unanimous decision win over Junto Nakatani.
The two Japanese boxing superstars brought their capital city to a standstill as 55,000 fans packed the Tokyo Dome to see a clash for the ages.
Both men came to the ring with 32-0 records and imposing knockout records and each were duly wary of one another’s power during the opening stages, as Inoue’s greater punch variety helped him to bank rounds.
Nakatani put his foot down to win rounds nine and 10 clearly, but suffered a nasty cut over his left eye towards the end of the latter session. With his opponent compromised, Inoue put his foot down in a dominant 11th round that loomed large in the final analysis.
Two judges scored the fight 116-112 to Inoue, while the third had it 115-113. The Sporting News also called the fight 116-112 for Inoue.
More to follow
MORE: Naoya Inoue’s five greatest knockouts
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani full card resultsNaoya Inoue (c) def. Junto Nakatani (UD 12) to retain the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super bantamweight titlesTakuma Inoue (c) def. Kazuto Ioka (UD 12) to retain the WBC bantamweight titleYoshiki Takei def. Dekang Wang (MD 8); Super BantamweightsJin Sasaki def. Sora Tanaka (SD 10); WelterweightsToshiki Shimomachi def. Reiya Abe (MD 10); FeatherweightsKosuke Tomioka drew w/ Shogo Tanaka (SD 10); FlyweightsYuito Moriwaki def. Deok No Yun (SD 10); Super MiddleweightsWhere to watch Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani will be available on DAZN worldwide.
A DAZN monthly subscription is $19.99 on a 12-month contract or $29.99 month-to-month. The annual subscription is $224.99.
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani start timeDate: Saturday, May 2Start time: 4 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. BSTMain event start time (approx.): 8 a.m. ET | 5 a.m. PT | 1 p.m. BSTLocation: Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani is on May 2. The main card starts at 4 a.m. ET and the main event should begin around 8 a.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
AloJapan.com