Naoya Inoue defended his undisputed junior featherweight championship Saturday night in Tokyo, beating Junto Nakatani in the main event of a major boxing card in Japan.
Tokyo got the superfight Japanese boxing fans had been waiting for, and Naoya Inoue left with all four belts still in his possession. In the main event Saturday, Inoue defeated Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, with judges scoring it 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112.
The result keeps Inoue on top as the undisputed champion at junior featherweight and strengthens his case as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound anchors. For American fans, this was the kind of matchup that has long fueled calls for Inoue to get even more prime-time visibility in the U.S., especially in fights that carry both championship stakes and genuine stylistic intrigue.
Official result: Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani — Inoue wins by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 116-112).
Undisputed junior featherweight world championship bout (122 pounds).
The bigger picture matters here. If Inoue had lost, the division would have been thrown into immediate chaos and a new era could have opened around Nakatani. Instead, Inoue remains the central figure at 122, and the conversation now shifts to whether there is another defining challenger in the division or whether his biggest tests will come from future weight changes and crossover mega-fights.
There is also a legacy angle. Inoue came in as the established champion, but Nakatani represented a serious threat because of his size, timing and championship pedigree. Beating a fellow elite Japanese star over 12 rounds gives Inoue a different kind of win than a quick knockout — it shows he can control a high-level fight deep into the cards when the power alone is not enough to end the night early.
On the undercard, Takuma Inoue beat Kazuto Ioka by unanimous decision, 120-106, 119-107 and 118-108, in a bout for the WBC bantamweight title. Jin Sasaki edged Sora Tanaka by split decision (97-93, 94-96, 96-94). Toshiki Shimomachi beat Reiya Abe on scores of 96-94, 95-95 and 96-94. Shogo Tanaka and Kosuke Tomioka fought to a draw, while Yuito Moriwaki defeated Deok No Yun by split decision, 96-94, 93-97 and 96-94.
With the undisputed title still around his waist, Inoue now moves forward as the man every contender at 122 will be chasing.
