Naoya Inoue Vs Junto Nakatani Highlights: Inoue Beats Nakatani To Retain Undisputed Crown

Good evening, we’re back with another live blog, and this one promises to be historic. Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani -- stay tuned for live updates.

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• Naoya Inoue (c) vs Junto Nakatani - Undisputed junior featherweight title

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

• Sora Tanaka vs Jin Sasaki - Welterweight bout

• Shogo Tanaka vs Kosuke Tomioka - Flyweight bout

• Yuito Moriwaki vs Deok No Yun - Super middleweight bout

• Reiya Abe vs Toshiki Shimomachi - Featherweight bout

What a scrap that turned out to be, and it goes the distance. Jin Sasaki edges it on a split decision after ten hard rounds, handing Sora Tanaka his first professional defeat.

Sasaki leaned on his experience here, pressing forward, letting his hands go in bursts and landing the heavier, more eye-catching shots, especially in the middle rounds. Tanaka didn’t back down though, sharp, aggressive, and dangerous every time he opened up, he made Sasaki work for every second of this.

In the end, it comes down to the judges: 97-93, 96-94 in Sasaki’s favour, while one card reads 94-96 for Tanaka. Close, competitive, and exactly the kind of fight that keeps a crowd locked in. Sasaki moves to 21-2-1 (18 KOs), while Tanaka, now 5-1, shows plenty in defeat.

Takei dominates early in the sixth, snapping Wang back with a sharp uppercut and following up with clean combinations as he pins him to the ropes. It’s his most convincing stretch, landing the heavier shots and controlling the pace. But Wang rallies late, firing back with a couple of solid right hands to push Takei onto the back foot.

10-9 Takei, 59-55 Takei

And here we go, the moment everyone’s been waiting for. Two Japanese icons, Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, step into the spotlight for a blockbuster clash at the very top of an already electric card.

This is elite-level boxing, power, precision, and legacy all on the line, you won’t want to miss a second.

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani are making their walk to the ring for this monumental super fight, the atmosphere is electric, and excitement barely does it justice.

Here we go, a packed Tokyo Dome buzzing as Naoya Inoue defends his undisputed title against southpaw Junto Nakatani. Inoue starts sharp, using his jab to close distance while Nakatani hangs back, looking to counter. Mid-round, Inoue goes to work, repeated rights to the body, then snaps a clean right upstairs that briefly unsettles Nakatani. He finishes the round in control, mixing levels and setting the pace.

10-9 Inoue

Inoue goes straight back to the body to start the round, but this is more measured now, a bit of a chess match with both men wary of overcommitting.

Inoue lands a clean right to the chin, while Nakatani probes with his jab, still hesitant to fully unleash the left. When he finally does, Inoue reads it well and rolls away. Both trade to the body, but Inoue sneaks in a sharp check hook and finishes with another dig downstairs, just edging the exchanges again.

Inoue ups the tempo here, pressing forward and looking to land that right hand, but it’s not quite clicking yet. Clean shots are hard to come by, with both men staying tight and cautious. Nakatani gives a bit of ground, on the back foot, but neither fighter has really found a scoring punch so far in this round.

Into Round 4, and Inoue looks well in control, likely three rounds up. He starts sharply again, using that jab to close the distance before going to work at range, mixing lefts to the head and body with real precision. Nakatani stays patient, waiting for openings, and does catch Inoue with a counter left when he overreaches.

Inoue keeps the pressure on though, digging to the body and then firing a slick three-punch combo, head, body, then the right hand. Nakatani answers back with a chopping left, but Inoue’s work rate and accuracy stand out.

Nakatani’s corner, led by Rudy Hernandez, tells him he’s behind and needs to get busier, work the chest, let his hands go. But it’s Inoue who sets the tone again in the eighth, jumping in with a sharp combination. Nakatani fires back straight away and suddenly the round opens up.

A clean left splits Inoue’s guard for Nakatani, but Inoue responds by continuing to pound away with the jab, controlling the rhythm. The champ follows with a chopping right, then shows slick head movement to make Nakatani miss on the counter.

Into the final minute, Inoue lands a crisp left hand, but Nakatani answers with a looping hook and then digs to the body. He starts to let his hands go, a brief flurry of lefts and a follow-up combination brings some life back into his work as the round closes.

Three minutes to go, and on Uncrowned’s scorecard, Junto Nakatani needs a knockout to turn this around.

Inoue comes out firing in the final round, snapping through the guard with a sharp one-two. Nakatani answers immediately with a left and tries to build a combination of his own, both men are now trading with real intent, looking to leave everything in the ring.

Power shots are landing on both sides, but Inoue’s speed still stands out, especially when he threads a clean right hand right through Nakatani’s work.

As the clock ticks down, Inoue stays composed, controlling the exchanges and boxing smartly. With the final minute approaching, he looks in full control, managing the distance and seeing out the fight to the bell.

That’s a wrap. We will be back with another live blog. You can now follow the Thomas Cup 2026 semi-finals, China vs Denmark and India vs France, on our live coverage. Until then, goodbye.