Yardbarker
x
Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani: Preview, Fight Card & Storylines
Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani will fight with all four super bantamweight titles on the line. IMAGO / AFLOSPORT

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani: Preview, Fight Card & Storylines

Originally posted on KO on SI  |  By Tobias Linkin  |  Last updated May 1, 2026 8:35 AM ET
Google Add us as a preferred source on Google

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani will meet in one of the most anticipated boxing matches of the year, and what is largely considered the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.

Inoue, who is the number two-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will face one of the toughest challenges of his career when he steps in the squared circle with Nakatani in the Tokyo Dome. It's only the fourth boxing match to ever take place in the historic arena.

Both fighters are coming into fight night with 32-0 records. This marks Inoue's seventh consecutive defense of all four world titles (WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF) at the super bantamweight division. Inoue previously held all four titles at bantamweight, the WBO title at junior bantamweight and the WBC title at light flyweight.

IMAGO/AFLOSPORT

For Nakatani, this is his second fight at 122 pounds after moving up and facing Sebastian Hernandez Reyes on December 27. Nakatani has held titles at flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight.

Inoue will enter the fight as a -450 favorite, while Nakatani is a large underdog at +300.

In the co-main event, Takuma Inoue will defend his WBC bantamweight title against former pound-for-pound and multi-division world champion Kazuto Ioka.

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani tale of the tape

Naoya Inoue Junto Nakatani
Age 33 28
Height 5'5" 5'8"
Reach 67.5" 68"
Record 32-0 32-0
KOs 27 24

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani date

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani location

Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani start time

Time: 3 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. BST (main event ringwalks approximately 8 a.m. EST / 1 p.m. BST)

The card is expected to start at 3 a.m. ET with the main event ringwalks expected at approximately 8 a.m. EST.

How to watch Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani

Watch: DAZN

Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani fight card

• Naoya Inoue (c) vs Junto Nakatani - WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF World Super Bantamweight titles

• Takuma Inoue (c) vs Kazuto Ioka - WBC World Bantamweight title

• Toshiki Shimomachi vs Reiya Abe - Featherweight

• Sora Tanaka vs Jin Sasaki - Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Welterweight title

• Kosuke Tomioka vs Shogo Tanaka - WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight

• Deok No Yun vs Yuito Moriwaki - Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation and WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight

• Yoshiki Takei vs Dekang Wang - Super Bantamweight


This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA.