Naoya Inoue shared his candid thoughts on Junto Nakatani after 12 rounds of incredible focus and tension with the three-division world champion.

The two fighters faced off in a sold-out Tokyo Dome yesterday, headlining Japan’s most-attended boxing event in history when they collided in front of an estimated 55,000 spectators.

Inoue, a weighty pre-fight favorite, defended his undisputed super bantamweight crown for the seventh time after four victories last year.

Nakatani, meanwhile, followed up a hard-fought unanimous victory over Sebastian Hernandez in December and tried to dethrone “The Monster” in just his second appearance at 122 pounds.

It would have been an astonishing achievement had he achieved it, but the 28-year-old ultimately lost a unanimous decision to the great generation.

After winning the first rounds, Inoue faced a period of adversity as Nakatani came in strong, especially in the 10th frame and looked like he was gaining a lot of momentum.

However, Inoue responded with the qualities of a true champion and managed to consolidate his victory in the last six minutes.

In typical respectful fashion, the 33-year-old praised Nakatani’s mental strength during the post-fight press conference, while predicting that his compatriot would become a four-weight world champion.

“He’s a mentally mighty fighter and I think he’s definitely a fighter who will be a super bantamweight champion.”

🗣️ “I’M RELIEF”😅

Naoya Inoue reacts to defeating Junto Nakatani in the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history at Tokyo Dome!🔥🇯🇵

What do you think?🤔#InoueNakatanipic.twitter.com/joWShulYjv

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) May 2, 2026

If he decides to stay at 122 pounds, Nakatani may have to wait longer than expected for another world title fight.

That’s because Inoue’s first talks have already begun to defend his belts in January against unified super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

Carl Froch has weighed in on Moses Itauma’s chances against Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois as both of them could soon be ordered to face the rising star.

Before anything else Wardley must first defend his WBO title against Dubois on May 9, headlining the Queensberry show at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

The 31-year-old was promoted from interim heavyweight champion to full heavyweight champion following his victory over Joseph Parker, which resulted in a stunning 11th-round finish last October.

Meanwhile, Dubois hasn’t fought since his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in July, when he was vacated as the IBF champion following an emphatic fifth-round stoppage.

As for Itauma, he will likely be considered the mandatory challenger for the WBO title, which puts him in line to fight the Wardley-Dubois winner.

The 21-year-old has a fifth-round advantage over Jermaine Franklin, who went down and was stopped for the first time in his career.

While Itauma has yet to establish himself at the world level, his performance in March suggests that Itauma is capable of competing with the likes of Wardley and Dubois.

In fact, Hall of Famer Froch expressed his opinion on his YouTube channel: Froch About the fightthat this uncompromising genius is more than ready for such a challenge.

“I think Moses beats them both. Obviously Daniel Dubois has that punch that can catch him, as does Fabio Wardley, but I just don’t think they’re good enough [to beat him].

“When you look at Itauma and his speed – footwork, punch combination… power – he is just very, very good.”

Itauma is scheduled to return to action on July 25which means his maiden world title shot – if it were to happen now – most likely won’t be for the WBO belt.

It’s also worth noting that Itauma trains at the same gym as Wardley, which is a clear obstacle to their potential fight.

David Benavidez set a clear stance after his victory over Gilberto Ramirez, saying that the fight with Jai Opetaia would not take place on Zuffa’s terms.

“I don’t know why he went to Zuffa,” Benavidez said after his victory over Ramirez. “I’m not going to go out there and fight for Zuffa’s title. Dana White hasn’t shown that he wants to fight PBC or DAZN. If we can come to an agreement and have a large fight, let’s do it.”

The timing of Opetai’s transfer to Zuffa Boxing is extremely convenient for Benavidez. By signing Dana White, Opetaia lost his IBF title. Benavidez is now using this lack of equipment as a reason to ignore this fight, seeing it as a step back as he wants the older and unified titles.

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Last update: 2026/05/03 at 9:25