THE biggest fight in Japanese boxing history is happening on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome.
Undisputed (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF) junior featherweight (122 pounds) champion Naoya “The Monster” Inoue of Japan will face countryman Junto “Big Bang” Nakatani in a highly anticipated 12-rounder.
The fighters parade undefeated records and one-punch knockout power.
Inoue, a four-division (light flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight, and junior featherweight), has a record of 32-0 with 27 knockouts.
Nakatani, a three-division world champ (flyweight, junior bantamweight, and bantamweight), totes a record of 32-0 with 24 demolitions.
The popularity of pro boxing in Japan is surging because of Inoue.
Inoue has been crowned undisputed champion in two weight classes (bantamweight, junior featherweight) and is one of the best pound-for-pound champs in boxing today.
As of the last count, Japan has 6 world boxing champs: Inoue (junior featherweight/undisputed), Seiya Tsutsumi (WBA bantamweight), Takuma Inoue (WBC bantamweight), Masamichi Yabuki (IBF flyweight), Shokichi Iwata (WBC junior flyweight) and Ryusei Matsumo (WBA “regular” minimumweight).
While Inoue leads the charge of Japanese champions, Nakatani has been breathing down his neck.
Nakatani gave up his IBF/WBC bantamweight (118 pounds) titles last year to move up to the junior featherweight class and pursue a fight with Inoue. He debuted in the 122-pound division last December with a hard-earned win over Mexican Sebastian Hernandez.
For his part, Inoue deferred plans to move up to featherweight (126 pounds) to accommodate a showdown with Nakatani.
The stage is now set for Inoue-Nakatani.
The fight is sold out. All 55,000 tickets for the showdown at the Tokyo Dome were sold shortly after the counters opened.
Inoue, 33, is known for his devastating right hand, debilitating body assault, and great footspeed. In recent fights, he showed the ability to box and control the tempo at a distance.
Nakatani, 28, offers physical advantages. He stands a towering 5’8” and has arms long enough to keep a pressure fighter like Inoue at bay.
Experts claim Nakatani’s best chance is to utilize his length and jab to the fullest. The idea is to keep the smaller Inoue at a safe distance and wait for him to lunge in.
Nakatani, a southpaw, throws a lot of right jabs. It is a pesky jab, one that only tempts a foe to get under the right jab and lunge in. This sets up the opponent for Nakatani’s solid left straight.
Inoue offers a faster, more powerful left jab. The Monster’s left jab/right straight combination is delivered in lightning fashion.
With Nakatani’s tendency to get lazy with his right jab, Inoue can perfectly counter with his dreaded left hook to the ribcage.
Inoue has fought 8 times at junior featherweight or 122 pounds, and in 2 fights (against Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas), he was knocked down with a short, counter left.
Inoue has a tendency to get overly excited and recklessly barge in.
When he does this, he drops his right hand and leaves himself open for a counter left hook.
Inoue was knocked down by left shots from Nery and Cardenas, but the Japanese displayed the poise of a veteran in recovering from the incident.
When the cobwebs cleared, Inoue pulverized Nery and Cardenas.
Nakatani has fought only once at junior featherweight and it remains to be seen if he has fully recovered from the tough encounter with Hernandez.
Nakatani is a left-hander, though, and a tall one at that. The southpaw southpaw style has posed the most trouble for Inoue, as shown in the Nery and Cardenas fights where Inoue was knocked down by left shots delivered from a southpaw stance.
Nakatani’s infighting leaves plenty to be desired. Inoue can dig on the inside and rattle opponents with blows from all angles. On the inside, Nakatani struggles to step back and disengage. Nakatani is forced to just cover up or “elbow” his way out of trouble. There were occasions though when he was able to capitalize by throwing short uppercuts while mixing it up.
When backing up, Nakatani also tends to move to his left, making him a sucker for Inoue’s right hook.
Inoue has shown a more versatile style, particularly in his last two fights against Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Alan David Picasso. Inoue knows how to properly position his feet to set up his power shots.
The fight figures to be competitive in the first half, with the fighters trying to control the pace with their jabs. Inoue figures to be cautious and will test Nakatani’s body given that the latter is new to the weight class.
Inoue is the favorite to win, either by decision or late round stoppage, but the consensus is that Nakatani will provide him his toughest fight test.
Big Bang is a live underdog.
