Inoue beats Nakatani at Tokyo Dome, retains undisputed title reign

Naoya Inoue did more than defend his belts at Tokyo Dome. By beating unbeaten Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision, he strengthened a claim that already sits near the top of boxing’s modern era: he is not just Japan’s biggest fighter, but one of the sport’s defining champions.

The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 as Inoue retained the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine titles at 122 pounds. The victory lifted him to 33-0 with 27 knockouts and handed Nakatani, who entered at 32-0 with 24 knockouts after holding world titles in three weight classes, the first defeat of his career.

The setting matched the stakes. The card landed during Japan’s Golden Week holiday, sold out in advance, and filled all 55,000 seats in what was described as the fourth boxing match ever held at Tokyo Dome and the first of this scale between two Japanese fighters. Reuters and ESPN both framed it as the biggest boxing match in Japanese history, a rare moment when domestic star power pulled the sport’s global spotlight squarely toward Tokyo.

Inside the ring, the fight was more tense than wild. Both men started cautiously, the pace picked up in the middle rounds and then a clash of heads in the 10th opened a cut above Nakatani’s eye. Blood became a major factor late, and ESPN said Inoue found a second wind in the 11th before finishing the championship rounds in control.

That late surge mattered for more than the scorecards. Inoue’s seventh defense of the undisputed junior featherweight championship, after earlier defenses against David Picasso and Murodjon Akhmadaliev in 2025, showed the kind of consistency that drives pound-for-pound arguments. It also widened the commercial case for boxing’s next wave in Asia, where Japanese champions now have the kind of crossover event that can anchor major cards, attract global broadcasters and raise the ceiling for future superfights at higher weights.

Inoue said after the bout that he had carried out the plan he discussed before the fight and felt “relieved” because of the pressure of facing a fellow Japanese star ranked among the sport’s elite. He added that the night was not an endpoint, saying more “legendary occasions” were still ahead.

Nakatani, who arrived at super bantamweight after ruling three divisions, gave the result its proper scale. He said Inoue fought like a champion and praised the matchup that had been billed as a generational test. The fight settled that test for now, but it also changed the next conversation: where Inoue lands in the pound-for-pound race, which title he chases next and how far his reach can carry boxing beyond Japan.