SLOW-COOKED SUPERFIGHT
E veryone expected Naoya Inoue to demolish late substitute Ye Joon Kim on January 24, but the fourth-round KO was still an impressive performance by “The Monster.” In his first fight of 2025, Inoue once again demonstrated the strength, speed, skill and power that spawned his moniker, easily defended his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles in front of a packed house at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Sam Goodman, the IBF and WBO mandatory challenger, had to cancel the fight due to two sparring injuries to his left eye, and Korea’s Kim (21-3-2, 12 KOs) was selected as a substitute. But the difference in strength and overall level was clear from the beginning, and
“Kim was trying to force Inoue to react by changing his head position and making quick movements, and he actually landed some good punches at the right times,” Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) told The Ring. “But, still, Inoue was Inoue. He was thoroughly in control of the fight, taking the initiative and landing the punches he wanted to land. In terms of tactics against southpaws, Inoue used jabs a lot this time.” The clash between Inoue and Nakatani has become one of the dream matchups that boxing fans are looking forward to, not only in Japan but all over the world. Inoue has been leading the way in Japanese boxing and has established himself as one of the best “I have a lot of respect and pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. However, the southpaw Nakatani has also shown remarkable growth. An increasing number of fans and fighters believe that the 26-year-old champion, who still shows no signs of weakness, will be the biggest threat to Inoue. The question now is when this coveted match will take place. Trainer Rudy Hernandez, who has been coaching Nakatani since he was a teenager, appreciates Inoue but is eager to help his pupil conquer The Monster. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Inoue. He sets the bar high,” Hernandez told The Ring. “We are not there yet. We’d like to surpass Inoue one day, but right now, he’s number one. Junto is getting better, and so far only 70% of his full potential showed up. One day we have to fight Inoue to be the
best – hopefully at the end of this year, because it’s at the right moment.” However, it seems likely that it will be some time before the showdown between Inoue and Nakatani takes shape. It’s being viewed by some American media and fans as the “Super Bowl of Japanese boxing,” but, in reality, Nakatani is still far behind Inoue in terms of popularity and name recognition in Japan. Nakatani, who has won at flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight, has already earned the respect of the industry, but he still needs more casual fan appeal in order to make the Inoue bout a legitimate superfight in Japan. Nakatani will defend his WBC bantamweight title for the third time
Inoue, with his record of 29-0 (26 KOs), continues to march forward on an uncharted road. “My new opponent [accepted the assignment] 10 days before the fight. I feel a lot of love from everyone. I appreciate it,” Inoue said in the ring after the victory. “Overall, I think it was a good fight. I didn’t have enough time to study my opponent, so I just took time to see what was coming from him.”
on February 24 in Tokyo. His opponent is Mexican contender David Cuellar (28- 0, 18 KOs), The Ring’s No. 8-rated bantamweight. This fight was selected as the main event at Ariake Arena, but former kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa, who will face former bantamweight beltholder Jason Moloney in the co-featured bout, is still better-known to the general Japanese public. We can
admiration for Inoue. He sets the bar high.”
Kim connected with some solid punches during the first few rounds, but in the fourth, the Japanese hero weakened the challenger with a powerful body shot and finished him off with a devastating one-two combination, resulting in a KO that thrilled the crowd of about 15,000. After being repeatedly hurt in the fourth, Kim made a defiant gesture with his gloves, as if to say “bring it on,” but that attitude only hastened the end of the fight. Inoue’s knockout power and ever-present precision impressed three- division titleholder Junto Nakatani.
even make a case for Luis Nery, who challenged Inoue last May, being more well-known among Japanese sports fans than Nakatani due to the Mexican’s checkered past with Japanese boxing. So it is understandable that the Inoue vs. Nakatani fight is not being considered for the foreseeable future. Nakatani is expected to first pursue a 118-pound title unification fight. Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya Inoue who held the WBA bantamweight title until October of last year, would have been the perfect opponent for Nakatani. If Nakatani had Takuma’s scalp on his resume, the strong storyline of Naoya seeking revenge for his younger brother would undoubtedly raise domestic attention on their eventual showdown. However, Takuma lost a decision to Seiya Tsutsumi, so
As was the case at bantamweight, Naoya Inoue holds undisputed gold at junior featherweight.
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