Naoya Inoue (L) fights Junto Nakatani during their super bantamweight championship boxing contest at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on May 2, 2026. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani delivered, ultimately. Inoue scored a unanimous-decision win (116-112 x2, 115-113) in the highly anticipated main event. The fight started very slow with both fighters showing each other tons of respect before opening up around the sixth round. Inoue landed the harder and more consistent punches.
An accidental head clash in the 10th round was a big factor. Nakatani was mounting momentum and even appeared to daze Inoue momentarily in the frame. The headbutt resulted in a nasty gash on Nakatani's head. Inoue took advantage in the 11th and used the momentum to win the final frame. On the judges' scorecards, those two rounds decided the fight.
Inoue showed again that he is a clutch performer. In the 11th round with the momentum and perhaps the fight in the balance, the Japanese superstar took control of the fight. After a deliberate opening five rounds of feeling out, the action picked up around the sixth, with Inoue landing the cleaner power shots while Nakatani had moments of his own behind a sharp jab and the occasional left hand.
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The accidental head clash in the 10th opened a significant cut on Nakatani’s head and shifted the fight's rhythm. Inoue, who had appeared briefly buzzed earlier in that frame, regathered, took the 11th decisively and closed strong in the 12th. The two scorecards of 116-112 reflected the championship-rounds swing that Inoue engineered when it mattered most.
It was a winning night for the Inoue family. Younger brother Takuma Inoue dominated former multi-division champion Kazuto Ioka, scoring multiple knockdowns and cruising to a wide unanimous-decision win to retain his WBC bantamweight title. The scorecards (118-108, 119-107, 120-106) reflected just how lopsided the contest became.
Yoshiki Takei survived a rough night against DeKang Wang, scraping out a majority decision (76-76, 77-75, 77-75). Jin Sasaki upset Sora Tanaka by split decision in a competitive welterweight bout, and Toshiki Shimomachi edged Reiya Abe by majority decision in a featherweight scrap that went the distance.
Inoue is likely on to the next challenge and it may not be a rematch with Nakatani—at least not immediately. Nakatani made a good account of himself, but perhaps not good enough for an immediate rematch. With Inoue cementing his case at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, a move up to featherweight for a potential third undisputed run remains the most intriguing storyline.
A marquee Riyadh date under Turki Alalshikh’s banner also looms as a realistic next step. For Nakatani, a return at 122 against another contender — or a move back down to bantamweight — would put him squarely back in title contention at 27 years old.
From a hype standpoint, it is the biggest in Japanese boxing history. However, the action was not fast and furious enough to live up to the hype. Still, it was a great showing overall. The 55,000-strong sold-out Tokyo Dome crowd, two undefeated P4P stars colliding 32-0 vs. 32-0, and four major belts on the line gave the night a cultural weight no Japanese boxing event had carried before.
Inoue further entrenched his standing as Japan’s greatest-ever boxer, and the country's status as a global hub for the elite end of the sport feels firmer than ever after this performance.
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