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Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani live result, updates, highlights as 'The Monster' claims UD win in Japan's superfight

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani live result, updates, highlights as 'The Monster' claims UD win in Japan's superfight

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Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super bantamweight title with a tight, tense but ultimately assured unanimous decision win over Junto Nakatani.

The two Japanese boxing superstars brought their capital city to a standstill as 55,000 fans packed the Tokyo Dome to see a clash for the ages.

Both men came to the ring with 32-0 records and imposing knockout records and each were duly wary of one another’s power during the opening stages, as Inoue’s greater punch variety helped him to bank rounds.

Nakatani put his foot down to win rounds nine and 10 clearly, but suffered a nasty cut over his left eye towards the end of the latter session. With his opponent compromised, Inoue put his foot down in a dominant 11th round that loomed large in the final analysis.

Two judges scored the fight 116-112 to Inoue, while the third had it 115-113. The Sporting News also called the fight 116-112 for Inoue.

In the chief support bout, Inoue’s brother Takuma Inoue successfully defended the WBC bantamweight title as claimed a wide decision win over the great former four-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka.

The Sporting News is providing live coverage and results from the Inoue vs. Nakatani card and round-by-round coverage of the main event.

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani results

  • Naoya Inoue (c) vs. Junto Nakatani for the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super bantamweight titles
  • Takuma Inoue (c) def. Kazuto Ioka (UD 12) to retain the WBC bantamweight title
  • Yoshiki Takei def. Dekang Wang (MD 8); Super Bantamweights
  • Jin Sasaki def. Sora Tanaka (SD 10); Welterweights
  • Toshiki Shimomachi def. Reiya Abe (MD 10); Featherweights
  • Kosuke Tomioka drew w/ Shogo Tanaka (SD 10); Flyweights
  • Yuito Moriwaki def. Deok No Yun (SD 10); Super Middleweights

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani live fight updates, highlights from 2025 boxing card

Naoya Inoue wins by unanimous decision

Two of the judges agree on 116-112 to Inoue, with the other granting Nakatani an additional round for a 115-113 verdict. That’s a fair outcome after a high-class affair that didn’t quicken the pulse as we maybe expected. Nakatani will rue the head clash suffered towards the end the 10th. He’d dominated rounds nine and 10 and was threatening a big finish. Inoue responded with an emphatic 11th to take the fight away from Nakatani. Could they do it again? Very possibly. Thanks for joining us.

Round 12: Inoue’s lead uppercut is a thing of beauty. Unless you’re on the other end of it, which is where Nakatani finds himself. He really will rue that cut, which came at a dreadful time for him. Gets a chin check from an Inoue right hand. I think the champion has got this as we head into the final minute. You’d be happy to see them do it again, though. Walloping one-two from Nakatani, that’s better. He smiles, they both swing until the final bell and then embrace. The arena acclaims these two gladiators. There shouldn’t be any controversy on the cards. Inoue has won a very competitive fight.

 SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 116-112 Nakatani

Round 11: Inoue gets his combinations back, Nakatani has to eat a big right. Good first minute of the round form the champion, but Nakatani is finding more volume. Inoue uppercut on the inside, that’s a peach of a shot. Now he swarms after Nakatani, who’s having some bother with that eye. The blood is running right into it and one of the hardest pound-for-pound punchers in history is following him around the ring. Not an ideal set of circumstances.

 SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 106-103 Nakatani

Round 10: Nakatani first off his stool, Inoue looks up at the stadium screens. Is the older man feeling this? Right hand from Inoue. Now they trade hooks, Nakatani lands the right and stops Inoue in his tracks. The champion gets back to the jab, but it’s all single shots from Inoue at the moment. Nakatani controlling centre ring suddenly. Oof! A clash of heads! Nakatani is bleeding above the left eye. The doctor will have a look, but I’d imagine he’s absolutely fine to continue. Time in! Nakatani left clocks Inoue on the chin. Now body shots get to Inoue. ‘The Monster’ responds with a one-two before the bell but Nakatani is the man in the ascendancy. 

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 96-94 Nakatani

Round 9: Inoue with the more assertive opening to the ninth. Blistering combination from Nakatani but not a lot gets through. Now Inoue lets some shots go on the inside. Ooh, right uppercut from Nakatani, in and out. Now a short left hand. Is Inoue wobbled there? Good signs for the challenger heading into the championship rounds.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 87-84 Nakatani

Round 8: Nakatani responds to those instructions, digs his feet in at close quarters before winging an overhand left that doesn’t find a home. Another left finds Inoue’s jaw before the champ restores order with a triple jab, then a right hand. Inoue’s distance control is absurdly good. Nakatani eats a jab and looks like he sags a little. Still, Junto finds a right hook in return. Nakatani bangs to Inoue’s body in the corner. It’s been a pretty frantic round.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 78-74 Nakatani

Round 7: Jabs to body and head from Inoue. Nice combination from Nakatani, who has got into some decent rhythm now.  Now some aggression from Inoue, the result of which appears to be blood from the nose of Nakatani. The challengers started that round pretty well, but Inoue reasserted control. Rudy Hernandez in the Nakatani corner tells their man he needs to start being more aggressive after the bell.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 68-65 Nakatani

Round 6: Nakatani gets off a couple of shots as Inoue over-commits over his front foot. Now he pings Inoue’s head back with a jab, that’s better from the challenger. For all their vaunted knockout power, both these men are defensively exceptional. Inoue throws with Nakatani backpedalling uncomfortably before the bell but I don’t think that’s enough to take the round.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 58-56 Nakatani

Round 5: Inoue looks like he tries to goad Nakatani in. The champion is enjoying his work now. Meaty right hand but Nakatani deals with it well, using the ropes to take the sting out of the shot. Now Inoue thrusts in some jabs. Nakatani is starting to feel perilously within range. Combination from the challenger and Inoue covers up, Nakatani stabs to the body. Now left hand catches Inoue off balance. He needs more of that.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 49-46 Nakatani

Round 4: Triple jab from Inoue, who then clatters Nakatani’s head back with an uppercut. The challengers needs to wary of ‘The Monster’ gaining momentum, as he doesn’t tend to slow up once he gets moving.  Back Nakatani comes but there’s a little too much pawing with the jab and he’s reluctant to let his lethal left hand go. Another jab and a right hand to the top of the chest from Inoue, changing the levels. Nakatani comes back with a southpaw left of his own. 

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 39-37 Nakatani

Round 3: This is still little more than exploratory from both men, who seem so wary of one another. Night jab form Nakatani before Inoue get through with a right. The champion is looking to get in and out as Nakatani continues to box at range. A nice couple of right hands to the torso from Inoue, who slips a southpaw jab on the way out. Nakatani look to fire back and there are ooohhs and aaahhhs from the crowd.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 29-28 Nakatani

Round 2: More quite cagey stuff. Nakatani has a look at chopping the left down on Inoue as he comes in but doesn’t. Ohh, a Nakatani left hook just a couple of inches away. That’s the money shot for the challenger. Each get off lead hands to the body. Nakatani seems to be getting a bit of rhythm behind his jab.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 19-19 Nakatani

Round 1: Off we go. Nakatani sitting on the back foot using a very wide stance. Fencing behind the jabs. Nothing of note landed in the first minute and a half. Inoue looks to get low and wing a right to the body but he doesn’t get there. Now The Monster closes the distance a little more effectively, and gets off the right after a jab to the body. He accelerates through a combination, finishing with a right upstairs and that’s enough for Inoue to pinch the round, even though nothing landed particularly clean.

SN unofficial scorecard: Inoue 10-9 Nakatani

8:50 a.m. ET/ 13:50 p.m. BST: National anthem done. It’s nice when you only have to bother with one. Michael Buffer is doing his thing. We’re very much ready to rumble and ready to go round by round.

8:45 a.m. ET/ 13:45 p.m. BST: Nakatani being made to wait by Inoue’s typically bombastic ringwalk routine. We’ve had some string players, some shredding electric guitar, all of the belts, and pyrotechnics.  Final Fantasy into Kill Bill, essentially, which is very cool. And here he is. The main fella. The Monster. Naoya looks all business as the din explodes around him, menacingly focused. Nakatani pacing in his corner, his seconds saying a few words in these important moments.

8:40 a.m. ET/ 13:40 p.m. BST: Nakatani on his way in a sparkling gold robe. He looks relaxed, ready. A bit of a swagger to his step.

8:35 a.m. ET/ 13:35 p.m. BST: Okay, it’s time to grab your popcorn. Inoue and Nakatani are both ready to go in their changing rooms. This is two top 10 pound-for-pound fighters, rivals from the wame country and participants in the biggest fight in Japanese history. All the major belts at super bantamweight are up for grabs. Inoue could put on a clinic, he could get decked by a Nakatani left hand, it could be a back-and-forth thriller. It doesn’t get much better than this. Ringwalks time/

8:21 a.m. ET/ 13:21 p.m. BST: Takai gets the decision after eight rounds both men paid scant regard to defence. One judge scored it level but Takai did enough to get the job done. There is plenty to do, though, if he’s to return to world level.

7:59 a.m. ET/ 12:59 p.m. BST: Takai got nicely into his work in the first couple of rounds but the third was a big one for Wang, who had the former kickboxing star in trouble after a short right uppercut to the chin. The visitor will be keen to explore what demons remain from Takai’s stoppage loss to Cristian Medina.

7:45 a.m. ET/ 12:45 p.m. BST: We still have one more fight before the big one, with Yoshiki Takei seeking to get back on the path towards world titles in a super bantamweight showcase against China’s Dekang Wang. Takuma Inoue’s world title fight was not immediately before his brother’s blockbuster with Junto Nakatani because father Singo Inoue is coach to both of his sons.

Takuma Inoue retains WBC bantamweight title

Ioka gamely gets to the final bell after Inoue looked to lay it on thick during the final round. It still amounts to a very authoritative win for the younger Inoue brother, who gets it via deserved and yawningly wide margins of 120-106,  119-107 and 118-108. Ioka is given a WBC medallion and is applauded from the ring. That might be that for a modern legend of the Japanese fight game.

7:05 a.m. ET/ 12:05 p.m. BST: Open scoring has the bout 80-70 and 79-71 twice to Inoue, who is having things all his own way against a fighter in Ioka, who looks an old man tonight. Inoue could really push for the stoppage if he wants to here.

6:50 a.m. ET/ 11:50 a.m. BST: This bout has WBC open scoring, which is announced in the arena after the fourth and eighth rounds. Two judges saw it 39-35 to Inoue, with those two knockdowns, while the other had it a 40-34 shutout a third of the way through the scheduled distance. That was a touch harsh on Ioka, who recovered well to win the fourth, although Inoue got back to his smooth, authoritative boxing to dominate the fifth.

6:44 a.m. ET/ 11:44 a.m. BST: Inoue has started beautifully behind the jab against the smaller man so far and down goes Ioka in the second! Inoue, who is not a noted power-puncher like his brother, steadied Ioka with an overhand right and another backhand put the challenger on the canvas at the end of a follow-up volley. Ioka now down with an uppercut in the third! Inoue on the brink, with two minutes left in the round. Inoue’s speed and timing are on point, his right uppercut looking sharp. Ioka’s experience gets him to the end of the session but how much has he got left?

6:20 a.m. ET/ 11:20 a.m. BST: Ringwalks are underway for our co-main event. Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani are rightly spoken of as being among Japan’s greatest ever fighters, but Kazuto Ioka certainly belongs in that conversation. The 37-year-old veteran challenges Naoya’s brother Takuma Inoue for the WBC bantamweight title. Ioka has ruled across four divisions, from strawweight to super flyweight. If he dethrones Inoue tonight, he will become the seventh member of an elite club of men to call themselves five-division champions. Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard. Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford is company worth keeping.

6 a.m. ET/ 11 a.m. BST: It looks like some atmosphere at the Tokyo Dome. Ring Magazine editor Tom Gray, formerly of this parish, is on the ground. No loitering in the casino or the pub until the main event in Tokyo. Those fans packed into this iconic venue have just been treated to an absolute barnburner and another split decision. One judge saw 10 welterweight rounds 96-94 in favour of former amateur standout Sora Tanaka, but the two others gave it to former world title challenger Jin Sasaki 97-93 and 96-94.

5:30 a.m. ET/ 10:30 a.m. BST: Japanese promoters have a well-earned reputation for putting on well-matched cards without so many knock-over contents. This one so far is a case in point. The three bouts so far – Toshiki Shimomachi’s featherweight win over veteran former world title challenger Reiya Abe, Yuito Moriwaka’s rematch victory against Deok No Yun at super middleweight and the flyweight draw between Kosuke Tomioka and Shogo Tanaka have all gone the distance and there’s not been a unanimous verdict in any of them. Moriwaki prevailed by split and majority decision, respectively, while the flyweights boxed to a split draw.

5 a.m. ET/ 10 a.m. BST: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani. The two undefeated superstars of Japanese boxing clash for undisputed super bantamweight glory in a fight for the ages before a sold-out crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome. Stick a pot of coffee on and come and join us. It’s going to be epic. The fight, that is. I mean, I’m sure your coffee is good too.

MORE INOUE-NAKATANI NEWS:

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani start time

  • Date: Saturday, May 2
  • Start time: 4 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. BST
  • Main event start time (approx.): 8 a.m. ET | 5 a.m. PT | 1 p.m. BST
  • Location: Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani is on May 2. The main card starts at 4 a.m. ET and the main event should begin around 8 a.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last. 

Where to watch Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani

  • Live Stream: DAZN 

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani will be available on DAZN worldwide.

A DAZN monthly subscription is $19.99 on a 12-month contract or $29.99 month-to-month. The annual subscription is $224.99.

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