The pound-for-pound superstar’s May fight will be made official this Friday.
The abyss that separates a modern-day great from an all-time great is stark and almost eternally vast. A fighter’s accomplishments may stand today, but will they resist being swept up in time’s strong current?
There are only a handful of boxers currently fighting who we can say for sure are all-time greats, and one of them is Naoya ‘The Monster’ Inoue.
The Zama, Kanagawa, Japan man has been one of the greats of today for a number of years now, and he has already proven himself as the greatest Japanese fighter of all time in the opinion of many in the boxing fraternity.
Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) has been a world champion at super-strawweight, super-flyweight, bantamweight, and super-bantamweight, attaining the status of undisputed in the latter two.
Such is Inoue’s dominance that he has only been the distance a total of five times in his career, with two of those times having come in his last two appearances. This marked the first time he had ever heard the final bell in consecutive fights.
But while Inoue’s brilliance is undeniable, one thing many would agree on is that he is yet to find a true dance partner. His pugilistic soulmate, if you will.
Nonito Donaire is the only man that comes close to filling these boots, yet despite giving Inoue the hardest of fights in 2019, he would get wiped out in two rounds in their 2022 rematch.
What sort of fighter could present Inoue with his first real rival?
How about Junto Nakatani?
Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) is also Japanese and is himself a three-weight champion. Recently, him and Inoue have started to occupy the same weight class, and after coming off respective wins on the same card in December, they are now ready to face each other.
Their fight is set to go down at the Tokyo Dome on the 2nd of May, and it will be officially announced at a press conference this Friday.
Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani will be officially announced at a press conference this Friday ‼️
The Ring and undisputed junior featherweight world title fight is set for May 2nd at the Tokyo Dome in Japan 🎌
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