Naoya Inoue oozed class, and versatility, as he overcame the most accomplished opponent of his career to date, the brilliant Junto Nakatani, to claim a close decision win after 12 rounds and retain his junior featherweight belts.
The scores, 116-112 (twice) and 115-113, were unanimous in the 33-year-old's favor.
What began as a chess match evolved into something altogether more violent as Inoue, likely ahead after four rounds, pressed forward in the fifth to encourage Nakatani, 32-1 (24 KOs), to do the same. Both were throwing cultured punches, each so respectful - and evasive - of the other throughout the first half of the super-fight.
By the eighth it felt like the 33-0 (27 KOs) Inoue, as he raided and then stepped back, was in control. Nakatani, meanwhile, was having some success and, surely realising he would need to do more, piled on the pressure at the end of the session and carried that form into the ninth. Suddenly, it looked like it could go either way.
Inoue, marked up around the eyes, took a huge left hand in the 10th and, feeling the pace, grew ragged for the first time. The heads came together suddenly, opening a nasty cut above Nakatani's left eye. The underdog, however, was bossing the action to leave Inoue looking uncharacteristically bedraggled going into the penultimate session.
Great fighters prove they are so when they survive crises and turn fights in their favor. Inoue did this in the last two rounds and charged after Nakatani who, perhaps bothered by the cut, threatened to lose all momentum. A lively 12th, to punctuate a high-class contest, was edged by Inoue.
More to follow...
