Naoya Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) outpointed fellow countryman Junto Nakatani (32-1, 24 KOs) over 12 tense rounds in Tokyo on Saturday night at a sold-out Tokyo Dome. More than 55,000 fans saw the long-awaited showdown and the headliners put on a skilled battle for multiple 122-pound belts.
Official scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113, all for Inoue.
The early rounds saw Inoue with an edge and he built up a lead with more precise shots. The southpaw Nakatani worked his jab in Inoue’s face but the defending champion stood in and got the better of exchanges over the first half of the fight. Both fighters showcased elite defense while trying to crack the code on their opponent.
Nakatani came on late, rocking Inoue in round eight with both hands. The ninth was another strong round for the challenger that included a right uppercut that found the mark.
Round 10 was another good round for Nakatani, but a clash of heads late in the frame opened a cut near Nakatani’s left eye. The momentum to sweep the final rounds was interrupted as Inoue came on in round 11 and battered Nakatani with rights that had the challenger in trouble.
The scores were not a surprise, the contest was close but Inoue was the clear winner.
UNDERCARD
The opening bout on the DAZN pay-per-view event saw Takuma Inoue improve to 21-2 (5 KOs) with a UD12 over Kazuto Ioka (32-5-1, 17 KOs). The younger brother of Noaya Inoue had his opponent down twice in defending his WBC bantamweight title. Official scores were 120-106, 119-107 and 118-108.
