The Monster vs. Big Bang: The Fight Japanese Boxing Has Been Building Toward

TOKYO, Japan — The Tokyo Dome has only hosted boxing four times in its history. The first was Mike Tyson dismantling Tony Tubbs in two rounds in 1988. The second was Buster Douglas shattering Tyson's aura in one of the greatest upsets sport has ever seen in 1990.

The third was Naoya Inoue rising from a first-round knockdown to stop Luis Nery in 2024. Saturday night writes the fourth chapter, and it may be the most significant of them all. Inoue puts his undisputed super bantamweight throne on the line against fellow unbeaten Japanese star Junto Nakatani in front of a sold-out crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome.

Two fighters, both 32-0, both pound-for-pound elite, both carrying knockout power and both carrying the pride of Japanese boxing on their shoulders. Something has to give. This is the fight the sport has been waiting for.

Naoya "The Monster" Inoue (32-0, 27 KO's) needs no introduction at this point. A four-division world champion who has been as close to flawless as boxing allows, he has dismantled every opponent in front of him with a combination of speed, pinpoint accuracy and devastating body work that wears opponents down before finishing them off. He enters this fight having stopped 11 of his last 13 opponents, with his most recent outing a dominant unanimous decision over David Picasso last December in Riyadh.