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Naoya Inoue faces potentially the greatest challenge of his incredible career when he takes on fellow Japanese superstar Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
A sold-out crowd of 55,000 will watch four-weight champion Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) make the seventh defence of his undisputed super bantamweight crown.
Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) is a three-weight champion himself and will box at the 122-pound limit for the second time against a pound-for-pound superstar, who has blazed a trail for this generation of Japanese boxers.
Will the king retain his throne, or will the crown be passed on to a man five years his junior?
In the chief support bout, Inoue’s brother Takuma Inoue defends the WBC bantamweight title – formerly held by Nakatani – against veteran hero Kazuto Ioka.
The Sporting News is providing live coverage and results from the Inoue vs. Nakatani card and round-by-round coverage of the main event.
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani results
- Naoya Inoue (c) vs. Junto Nakatani for the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super bantamweight titles
- Takuma Inoue (c) vs. Kazuto Ioka for the WBC bantamweight title
- Yoshiki Takei vs. Dekang Wang; Super Bantamweights
- Sora Tanaka vs. Jin Sasaki; Welterweights
- Toshiki Shimomachi def. Reiya Abe (MD 10); Featherweights
- Kosuke Tomioka drew w/ Shogo Tanaka (SD 10); Flyweights
- Yuito Moriwaki def. Deok No Yun (SD 10); Super Middleweights
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani live fight updates, highlights from 2025 boxing card
5:30 a.m. ET/ 10:30 a.m. BST: Japanese promoters have a well-earned reputation for putting on well-matched cards without so many knock-over contents. This one so far is a case in point. The three bouts so far – Toshiki Shimomachi’s featherweight win over veteran former world title challenger Reiya Abe, Yuito Moriwaka’s rematch victory against Deok No Yun at super middleweight and the flyweight draw between Kosuke Tomioka and Shogo Tanaka have all gone the distance and there’s not been a unanimous verdict in any of them. Moriwaki prevailed by split and majority decision, respectively, while the flyweights boxed to a split draw.
5 a.m. ET/ 10 a.m. BST: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani. The two undefeated superstars of Japanese boxing clash for undisputed super bantamweight glory in a fight for the ages before a sold-out crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome. Stick a pot of coffee on and come and join us. It’s going to be epic. The fight, that is. I mean, I’m sure your coffee is good too.
MORE INOUE-NAKATANI NEWS:
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani start time
- Date: Saturday, May 2
- Start time: 4 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. BST
- Main event start time (approx.): 8 a.m. ET | 5 a.m. PT | 1 p.m. BST
- Location: 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.
Where 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.
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