Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani Preview May 2nd, 2026
Unbeaten, undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion Naoya Inoue of Japan will enter the ring in Tokyo this Saturday, May 2nd to defend his titles against fellow undefeated countryman Junto Nakatani. The 12-round encounter can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Fans in Japan can catch it on Lemino and it’s reportedly being shown on ESPN Knockout in Latin America, starting at 5:40 am ET. Nakatani last fought in December when he beat Sebastian Hernandez Reyes by a controversial unanimous decision in a war in Nakatani’s first fight as a super bantamweight. The three-weight champion Nakatani previously fought in June when he stopped fellow countryman Ryosuke Nishida after six rounds to take his IBF Bantamweight Title to unify it with his WBC Belt. Inoue’s last bout was also in December when he took a unanimous decision over Alan David Picasso. In his previous outing beat former IBF and WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev by unanimous decision.
Inoue vs Nakatani Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Junto Nakatani +284
- Naoya Inoue -400
My Pick
The 33-year-old Inoue is just the second male Japanese boxer to win world titles in four weight divisions to join Kazuto Ioka in that feat. Inoue was also a world beltholder at 108, 115 and 118 lbs and has been an undisputed champion in two different divisions, bantamweight and super bantamweight. As a bantamweight, Inoue fought in the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight Tournament and won the IBF belt when he stopped Emmanuel Rodriguez in the second round in May, 2019.
Six months later he beat Nonito Donaire by unanimous decision in a classic battle to capture the tournament as well as Donaire’s WBA Super World Belt. Inoue had originally won the regular WBA title in 2018 when he stopped Jamie McDonnell in 112 seconds. After beating Donaire, Inoue defended the belts against Jason Moloney, Michael Dasmarinas and Aran Dipaen with stoppages in the seventh, eighth and third rounds respectively.
Inoue and Donaire met in a long-awaited rematch in 2022 with Inoue adding the WBC Bantamweight Title to his collection when he stopped the Filipino Flash in the second round. He then became undisputed with an 11th-round stoppage of Paul Butler in 2022. He enters the ring this Saturday with a perfect mark of 32-0 with 27 Ko’s. Inoue is also a former WBO Jr. Bantamweight and WBC Junior Flyweight Titleholder who has all the tools to be considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers. He stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach.
Inoue defended his Junior Bantamweight Crown seven times before moving up in weight. The Japanese star became a world champion in just his sixth pro fight when he stopped Adrian Hernandez in the sixth round for his WBC Junior Flyweight Belt in 2014. He defended it once then moved up to super flyweight and took the title from Omar Narvaez by second-round KO in 2014. More recently, he stopped former world champion TJ Doheny in the seventh round in August, 2024.
He then halted Ye Joon Kim in the fourth round in January, 2025 and last May, Inoue picked himself up from the canvas in the second round and came storming back to drop Ramon Cardenas in the seventh round and stop him in the eighth. The Japanese star was dropped for the first time in his career in the first round by Luis Nery in May, 2024 but then decked Nery in the second and fifth rounds before stopping him in the sixth.
Inoue had halted Marlon Tapales in the 10th round for the WBA and IBF Belts in December, 2023 and he stopped Stephen Fulton in the eighth round five months earlier to take his WBO and WBC Titles. Known as ‘The Monster,’ Inoue has been a sensation since turning pro in 2012 and has boxed 205 rounds since. He’s got dynamite in his fists with an 84.4 per cent knockout ratio but also has fine boxing skills. Inoue has gone the distance just three times since mid-2016, which was the first fight against Donaire in 2019, but he did drop him in the 11thround.
He also went the distance in his last two outings, which were against Akhmadaliev and Picasso. Inoue enjoyed a fine amateur career and is now 27-0 with 22 Ko’s in world title fights. He’s also beaten the likes of Juan Carlos Payano, Ryoichi Taguchi, Kohei Kono, Antonio Nieves, David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez. He’s also 14-0 with 11 Ko’s against current or former world champions in Akhmadaliev, Doheny, Nery, Tapales, Fulton, Butler, Donaire, Rodriguez, Taguchi, Hernandez, Narvaez, Kono, McDonnell and Payano.
‘Big Bang’ Nakatani is a southpaw who hails from Inabe-gun, Mie and is five years younger than Inoue at the age of 28. He also boasts a perfect record of 32-0 and has recorded 24 Ko’s. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach for a three-inch height advantage on Inoue as well as an inch in reach. Nakatani has boxed 152 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 and attended karate school as a youngster before taking up boxing.
As an amateur he won the Under-15 National Championships and reportedly boasted a record of 14-2 with 10 Ko’s. He then turned pro at the age of 17 and captured the vacant Japanese Flyweight Title in 2019 when he stopped Naoki Mochizuki in the ninth round. He has also displayed plenty of power up until now with a current knockout ratio of 75 per cent and has stopped 12 of his last 15 opponents as well five of of his past six.
Nakatani halted former world champion Milan Melindo of the Philippines in the sixth round in 2019 and then won the the vacant WBO Flyweight Title in 2020 with an eighth-round stoppage over Giemel Magramo. He stopped Angel Acosta in the fourth round in his first defence and then halted Ryota Yamauchi in eight rounds before moving up in weight against Francisco Rodriguez in 2022 and taking a 10-round unanimous decision. Nakatani then stopped Andrew Moloney in 2023 for the vacant WBO Super Flyweight Title with what most experts considered to be the knockout of the year.
Nakatani is also a former WBO Flyweight and Super Flyweight Champion. He captured the WBC Bantamweight Title by stopping Alexandro Santiago in the sixth round in 2024 to win a world title in a third weight division. He then defended it against Vincent Astrolabio when he stopped him in 157 seconds and and halted Petch CP Freshmart in the sixth round before halting David Cuellar and Ryosuke Nishida last year before beating Reyes in December. Nakatani is already considered to be one of the most successful Japanese boxers in history with world title belts in three weight divisions and combines speed, ring intelligence and power.
Prediction…
This fight is for all the marbles in the super bantamweight division and it’s being hailed as the biggest fight in Japanese history. Both boxers are unbeaten with 32-0 records. Inoue arguably has the edge in power while Nakatani has the size advantage and is five years younger. Inoue has been susceptible to left hooks lately as Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas both dropped him early in their fights and Nakatani is a southpaw with power in both hands. However, Inoue does appear to have good recuperative powers. He also possesses great boxing skills, ring intelligence and power and is a fantastic body puncher who changes angles, speed and power when letting his hands go. This fight reminds me of the first Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns matchup of 1981 with Inoue in the Leonard role and Nakatani as Hearns. That means anything can happen regarding momentum swings and the fight could suddenly end with one power shot. It’s a coin toss but I think Inoue can outbox Nakatani as long as he can handle his power.
Inoue’s power and boxing skills rule, but it could go the distance.
Play Inoue -400 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Junto Nakatani betting • Naoya Inoue betting