In the biggest Japanese boxing match of this generation, Naoya Inoue beat Junto Nakatani on Saturday, handing his compatriot the first loss of his professional career.
Inoue secured a unanimous-decision victory at the Tokyo Dome, retaining the undisputed super-bantamweight titles and preserving his unbeaten record.
Both Inoue, 33, and Nakatani, 28, entered the super-fight with perfect records and as multi-weight champions, but it was the “Monster” who solidified his already-remarkable legacy. Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) earned scorecards of 116-112, 115-113, 116-112, extending his current title reign – which has followed an undisputed run at bantamweight, and previous title wins at light-flyweight and super-flyweight.
Meanwhile, Nakatani won gold at flyweight and super-flyweight before becoming unified bantamweight champion, a reign that gave way to his super-bantamweight debut in December. And against the finest opposition that the division could offer, Nakatani came up short on Saturday, suffering the same fate as every other foe that Inoue has faced.
Re-live the fight below:
Nakatani’s best spell of the fight
Another Compubox stat, per The Ring: round eight was the first in which Nakatani outlanded Inoue.
In fact, from round eight to round 10, he landed 48 punches to Inoue’s 34.
A good fight? Certainly once it got going
At the midway point, boxing journalist Dan Rafael tweeted: “Inoue 5-1. Hasn’t been a good fight at all so far unfortunately.”
I had a similar score but didn’t feel it had been a poor fight; it had been a bit underwhelming but tense, and that tension paid off with a really strong second half!
A key stat for Inoue en route to victory
The Ring magazine has referenced Compubox, which reports that Inoue threw a fight-high 53 power punches and landed 21 of them in round 11.
That felt a key round at the time.
Nakatani can hold his head high
Nakatani fought really well tonight. If he’d just started more quickly…?
Inoue just too good for spirited Nakatani in long-awaited super-fight
You can read our full report here:
One of Inoue’s finer moments
Inoue began to use uppercuts really well in the final couple of rounds. An essential weapon in the end.
The winning moment!
Both men graceful after the result is declared
Nakatani bows to the crowd then exits the ring.
Inoue thanks him and congratulates him on a great effort!
