Japanese fighters Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani did what they needed to do on Saturday—and, in the process, lined up the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
Fighting hours apart on the same card in Riyadh, both unbeaten champions emerged victorious, officially setting the stage for a long-anticipated showdown in 2026 that will pit two of the world’s elite pound-for-pound fighters against each other for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight titles.
Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) retained his crown with a dominant but workmanlike unanimous decision over David Picasso, winning by scores of 119-109, 120-108, and 117-111 at the Mohammed Abdo Arena. Earlier in the night, Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) survived the toughest test of his career, edging Sebastian Hernandez via unanimous decision in his junior featherweight debut.
It wasn’t a perfect night for either man—but it was more than enough to make Inoue vs. Nakatani inevitable.
Inoue Dominates Without the Exclamation Point
This was not a vintage Inoue knockout performance, and he admitted as much afterward. Still, the undisputed champion was levels above Picasso over 12 rounds, controlling the fight with speed, precision, and relentless body work.
Inoue, a four-division world champion, made his seventh defense at 122 pounds by consistently beating Picasso to the punch and punishing him downstairs. Though he has shown vulnerability in recent outings—having recovered from knockdowns in two of his last five fights—there was little danger here. Picasso simply could not match Inoue’s timing or ring IQ.
The Mexican challenger had his moments of aggression, but Inoue’s hand speed and combination punching overwhelmed him early. A left to the body late in Round 6 visibly hurt Picasso, and sustained body attacks in Rounds 8 and 9 further drained him. That Picasso lasted the distance was a credit to his conditioning, not a reflection of the fight’s competitiveness.
“I wasn’t very happy about my performance,” Inoue said afterward. “I could have done much better. I’m really tired, so I would love to rest for a while.”
Even in a fight he considered subpar, Inoue reminded everyone why he remains one of boxing’s most complete technicians.
Nakatani Survives Career Test in Gritty Win
If Inoue’s win was about control, Nakatani’s was about survival.
Making his junior featherweight debut after relinquishing his bantamweight titles in September, Nakatani was dragged into a brutal, high-volume fight by Hernandez and emerged battered but unbeaten. The scorecards—115-113 twice and 118-110—reflected a bout that could just as easily have gone the other way.
Hernandez’s relentless pressure and output forced Nakatani into deep waters, swelling his right eye shut by the final rounds. A draw would not have been unjust, and Hernandez had a legitimate argument for victory.
Still, Nakatani showed flashes of his class, particularly early, when he controlled the fight behind a sharp southpaw jab and landed a crisp counter left hook in Round 2. A right uppercut late in the third stood out, but the middle and late rounds belonged largely to Hernandez’s aggression.
“It was a great learning experience for me,” Nakatani said. “I changed weight classes to aim for the world champion [Inoue].”
At 27, Nakatani capped a strong year that included stoppage wins over Ryosuke Nishida and David Cuellar Contreras, even if this performance exposed new questions.
A Megafight Now Impossible to Ignore
With both men unbeaten, Japanese, and operating at the highest level of the sport, Inoue vs. Nakatani now looms as the defining fight of 2026. Unlike the endlessly teased Tyson Fury–Anthony Joshua matchup, which remains mired in years of false starts, this one feels real—and imminent.
“Both of us had a very good win tonight,” Inoue said. “For the Japanese fans, you can expect something very good.”
Saturday may not have delivered perfection, but it delivered clarity. The path is set. The stakes are massive. And for Japanese boxing, it doesn’t get any bigger than this.
