Inoue vs. Nakatani earns a spot amongst the highest gates in boxing history.
Naoya Inoue is more and more often coming to be recognised as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in all of boxing. Indeed, his win over Junto Nakatani just under two weeks ago vaulted him to the top of The Ring‘s rankings and strengthened his standing in the sport even further.
Their meeting was an all-Japanese blockbuster that set the precedent for big spectacles in the country, and it is likely not to be equalled for a very long time, if ever.
It wasn’t an affair that would prove especially exciting to those not already well-acquainted with the sport, but the scope of the event lied in the elite talent of two fine practitioners of the fistic arts who were colliding in their home country for all the marbles at their weight class.
55,000 people were in attendance at the Tokyo Dome, a venue which had only seen two boxing shows in the last 36 years. One of these was Inoue’s fight against Luis Nery, and the other was Mike Tyson’s shocking loss to Buster Douglas.
The card has proven to have done very well, for it is being reported that it generated a gate of $32 million. This is the fourth-highest in boxing history, taking the place of the first meeting between Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin in the top five.
It also bucks the trend of the most popular fighters being from the Americas, as every other fight on the list features a boxer either from Mexico or the United States.
Yet another feather in the cap of “The Monster”, who has already proven to be the best fighter in the entire history of Japan.
Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani has entered the top 5 gates in boxing history, with reportedly a $32 million gate 💰👀 pic.twitter.com/XFCAwpiHNl
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) May 11, 2026
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