Naoya Inoue defeated Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, handing his compatriot the first loss of his professional career. The victory allowed Inoue to retain the undisputed super-bantamweight titles and preserve his unbeaten record.
Both fighters entered the contest with perfect records and as multi-weight champions. Inoue, 33, improved to 33-0 with 27 knockouts, earning scorecards of 116-112, 115-113, and 116-112. The win extended his current title reign, following undisputed runs at bantamweight and previous titles at light-flyweight and super-flyweight.
Nakatani, 28, had won gold at flyweight and super-flyweight before becoming unified bantamweight champion. He made his super-bantamweight debut in December. Despite a strong performance in the second half of the fight, he came up short against Inoue.
Inoue has been linked to a potential fight with Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, an unbeaten two-weight champion. Inoue welcomed the fight but indicated he would like a break before competing again. Rodriguez would face a significant weight jump to move up to super-bantamweight.
Compubox statistics showed that Nakatani outlanded Inoue in round eight, the first time that had occurred. From rounds eight to ten, Nakatani landed 48 punches to Inoue's 34. In round eleven, Inoue threw a fight-high 53 power punches, landing 21.
