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Inoue wary of 'clever' Nakatani in sold-out Tokyo superfight / Photo: © AFP
Inoue wary of 'clever' Nakatani in sold-out Tokyo superfight
Japan's Naoya Inoue said he will face a "clever, serious" opponent in fellow unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani when they clash in front of 55,000 at a sold-out Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
Undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Inoue puts his belts on the line for the seventh time in one of the biggest bouts in Japanese boxing history.
Both Inoue and Nakatani have 32-0 records and the fight has been over a year in the making.
Inoue is Japanese boxing's biggest star but he meets a dangerous opponent eight centimetres (three inches) taller and five years younger.
"He strikes me as being very clever, serious and completely dedicated to boxing," the 33-year-old Inoue said on Thursday.
"Because he's that type of fighter, I've felt that I've needed to prepare with the same attitude."
Inoue -- who has 27 KOs to Nakatani's 24 -- will be fighting for the first time this year after taking on a remarkable four bouts in 2025.
He won them all, rounding off the year with a unanimous decision victory over Mexico's Alan Picasso in Saudi Arabia.
Nakatani beat Mexico's Sebastian Hernandez by unanimous decision on the same card in his super-bantamweight debut.
The 28-year-old Nakatani is a former world champion in three different weight classes and said he was ready for his shot at Inoue.
"There aren't many boxers who get the chance to fight on a stage as big as this, and I'm happy and grateful for it," said Nakatani.
"I had a really great training camp to prepare."
Nicknamed "Big Bang", Nakatani regularly features in The Ring magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound rankings, which rate the world's best boxers regardless of weight class.
Inoue, the "Monster", has been a fixture in the pound-for-pound top three for years.
Inoue, who admitted he was tired after beating Picasso in late December, said defeating Nakatani was "the only thing on my mind".
"I've done everything I need to," he said.
"Now I'm feeling calm and I'm just waiting for the fight."
Inoue's younger brother Takuma, the WBC world bantamweight champion, will fight Kazuto Ioka in another all-Japanese clash on the undercard.
The 37-year-old Ioka is attempting to win a world title in a fifth different weight class.
K. Petersen--BTZ
