Prominent Japanese fighters, Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, appear set to collide in a champion vs champion spectacle — arguably the biggest in their region for years — in May.
According to Kyodo News, Inoue announced Tuesday that the fight is confirmed. Speaking at an awards ceremony in Tokyo, he said he’s “going head-to-head with Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome.”
Inoue is one of the world’s most celebrated pound-for-pound fighters on account of his fan-friendly fighting style, four-weight championship status, and wins over Nonito Donaire, Stephen Fulton, and Luis Nery, among others.
But Nakatani is also a fearsome fighter as a three-weight world champion and his own penchant for knockout punching, having finished Andrew Moloney, Alexandro Santiago, and Sebastian Hernandez in recent years.
“I’m highly motivated for the first time in a while,” Inoue said. “I’ll train hard, and am looking forward to being in top shape for the fight.”
Nakatani, meanwhile said:
“He’s the best fighter in the world, so I need to be in top condition to fight him.”
Tuesday was a day when numerous fighters and boxing promoters dropped news of confirmed fights.
British light heavyweight Callum Smith will welcome Cuban fighter David Morrell to the Liverpool Arena in his backyard, in England, atop a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN.
“Morrell is a top fighter, but I’m coming into this fight with a clear goal — to win and take another big step towards becoming a two-weight world champion.”
Also in a statement sent to Boxing Social, Morrell said: “I’m excited to showcase my talent in front of the great boxing fans in the UK.”
“I’m preparing for an all-out war with Callum Smith on April 18. I’m coming for that belt.”
Elsewhere, Most Valuable Promotions, which has made its name placing its co-founder Jake Paul in Netflix fights while building the best female roster in the sport, announced its foray into mixed martial arts with the surprise confirmation of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano colliding in May.
And Premier Boxing Champions sent a statement to Boxing Social confirming three fights that round out the main card for Sebastian Fundora’s super welterweight world title defense against Keith Thurman at the end of May.
