In recent years, some have believed that Junto Nakatani could be the man to dethrone undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue. On Saturday, Inoue turned away Nakatani's challenge with a solid, professional performance in the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
The clash of undefeated Japanese stars started slowly, with Nakatani trying to maintain distance and a measured pace behind his jab. A problem quickly emerged for Nakatani as nearly every meaningful moment in those slow-paced rounds belonged to Inoue.
Just as the fight appeared to be getting out of reach for Nakatani, he stepped on the gas and a true fight broke out in the second half of the bout.
Nakatani began to pressure Inoue, landing heavy punches in combination and forcing the champion into fighting off his back foot and along the ropes. Inoue's face began showing some swelling from Nakatani's attack and he seemed to be tiring.
Nakatani's comeback charge seemed to be derailed after a clash of heads in Round 10 opened a cut over his left eye.
Between the cut and Inoue seemingly having caught his second wind, Inoue was able to come back and clearly take the final two rounds and lock down his four world championships.
"This victory is very valuable for me because Junto Nakatani is also a pound-for-pound top-ranking athlete," Inoue said after his win. "I think this is a very valuable and important win for me."
The official scorecards read 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112, all for Inoue.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with live results and highlights below.
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inoue | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 116 |
| Nakatani | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 112 |
The early rounds were fought at a slow, cautious pace and it allowed Inoue to build a big early lead. When Nakatani committed to his attack, he had Inoue uncomfortable, but Inoue showed his toughness as he continued to come back even after bad moments.
The official scorecards read 116-112, 115-113, 116-112, all for Inoue.
Inoue tried to keep his momentum going but ran into a left hand. Nakatani fired a three-punch combination and Inoue came back with heavy shots, including a clean uppercut. Inoue landed another big right to the chin. Inoue continued to rip the uppercut. Nakatani fired back heavy shots. The second half of the fight was the fight fans were hoping to see, but Nakatani did too little early to win this on the cards.
Inoue landed a big right hand and Nakatani came back, landing lefts and rights in a flurry. Nakatani kept flurrying while Inoue looked for one big shot. Fortunately for Inoue, some of those big shots were landing, and it slowed Nakatani down. The blood from Nakatani's cut was pouring into his eye, which was also slowing his output after a tremendous stretch of rounds. Huge round for Inoue as he likely locked up the victory.
Nakatani kept his foot on the gas and landed a lead uppercut. Inoue was pushed into the ropes and came back with a combination. Nakatani landed a huge lead hook. Inoue came back but looked like he might be fading a bit just as Nakatani was coming on. Inoue started to throw single shots at a time while Nakatani pressed forward, keeping Inoue on his back foot. There was a clash of heads and Nakatani was cut over his eye. After a break in the action, Nakatani went right back to pushing forward. Nakatani started to work the body. Nakatani kept the pressure up but Inoue landed one good shot before the bell.
Nakatani landed some good left hooks as Inoue was sitting back for once. Nkatani had Inoue against the ropes and ripped a good combination. Inoue came back with a few combinations of his own, though a bit less emphatic than the one from Nakatani. After a few more shots from Nakatani, Inoue stepped in and connected with a solid right. Nakatani landed an uppercut and a short left hand and then a sweeping left. That was a big Nakatani round.
Nakatani landed a very good combination again. His corner had told him he needed to step up and he did begin to do that, walking forward and throwing big punches in combination. Inoue came back with three hard jabs, all connecting. Nakatani again threw a solid combination and then missed some counters after Inoue overextended. Inoue still had moments, cracking with good shots. Nakatani landed a jab and clipped Inoue in the corner.
Nakatani landed a good hook at the end of a combination, starting to pick up the pace as the second half of the fight began. Inoue stpped in to land a right to the body. Nakatani landed another good combination and then a right hook. Inoue landed a quick straight right hand, and another moments later. A left hook landed for Inoue. Nakatani landed another left hand. Both men had some good moments in the round, but Inoue landed some good shots again.
Nakatani landed a big left hand stepping in and then backed off. Inoue popped off a little jab. Nakatani fired off a good combination, closing with a left hand before Inoue came back with a solid right hand. Nakatani landed a good right hook counter as Inoue tried to flurry and there's a solid case for that being Nakatani's first round.
Nakatani landed a good shot and Inoue plowed forward. Another left landed for Nakatani. Inoue cracked with a straight right hand as Nakatani backed to the ropes. Nakatani landed a few shots after another round where Inoue had done enough to edge it out though without too much action. Nakatani is going to have to take some risks if he wants to turn this around. Single moments aren't going to get it done.
Inoue flurried early and connected a few times as he continued to up his aggression. Inoue missed wildly, allowing Nakatani to connect with two clean shots. Nakatani was clearly looking to time counters with his left hand from the southpaw stance. Inoue stpped in with a hard three-punch combination. Nakatani scored with a left around the guard. Inoue should be clearly in charge on the cards, but you can feel a fight is ready to break out at any moment.
Nakatani started to connect with the jab a bit more often in the first minute of the round. Inoue went back to the body again and Nakatani landed a stiff jab. Nakatani landed a sharp left-hand counter as Inoue attempted to lunge in. Inoue remained committed to digging in shots to the body. Inoue landed a right hand as he started to press forward.A good right landed for Inoue and Nakatani landed a body shot and a jab. Inoue stepped up the pressure a lot in that round.
Inoue looked loose in the second round, throwing a nice combination that attacked the body and head. Nakatani hadn't yet shifted gears, happy to keep using his jab and keep Inoue from unloading offensively. Inoue ripped a shot to the body and Nakatani again just missed a counter. Inoue again stuck one to the body late. Two close rounds, but both likely shaded to Inoue.
As expected, Nakatani wanted to work the jab from range early, standing in a very wide stance. Inoue slipped in and landed his own jab.Inoue tried to get a right hand in to the body. Nakatani kept trying to establish the distance with his jab and the occasional hook. Inoue landed a right hand and Nakatani just missed with a left-hand counter. A cautious opening round that Inoue likely edged out.
