TOKYO, Japan – "I'm relieved," said Naoya Inoue following his victory over Junto Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Relief, more than celebration, defined the undisputed junior featherweight champion’s mood after emerging from what had been billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. Many had believed that the now 33-0 (27 KOs) Inoue was on the slide, but he showed he still had enough to defeat one of the finest fighters in the world, taking a unanimous decision victory over Nakatani.
"[Nakatani] is a Japanese pound-for-pound fighter who has risen through the ranks,” said Inoue. “There was pressure not to lose. It was a tense fight on May 2, so I'm relieved to have won."
The fight itself reflected the scale of the occasion. The bout was a close one, with Inoue taking the early sessions and Nakatani clawing rounds back. Momentum shifted again late, as a cut suffered by Nakatani in the 10th round allowed Inoue to press forward and close the fight strongly over the final two sessions.
“I was fighting while checking the points with my team. In rounds 8, 9, and 10, I thought it might be okay to give up a few points,” he said. “I fought thinking it would be alright to hold back a little and concede some points. Today, it was more my mental stamina that was depleted than my physical stamina. That's how tense the 12 rounds were. It was a technical battle of hitting and missing, hitting and missing. We were both enjoying it. It was an enjoyable fight."
For all the pre-fight discussion around legacy, Inoue was measured when reflecting on the bout’s place in history.
“I'm not sure about [if this fight means] history yet, but in the future we might think this is the day [history was made,” Inoue said. “My boxing career isn't at the end. We just finished the fight, so I think I'm going to have great history in the future. I hope I can make history more and more.”
Nakatani, meanwhile, enhanced his standing despite the defeat, pushing Inoue into one of the most competitive fights of his reign at 122lbs.
"He's a mentally strong fighter, and I think he's definitely a fighter who will become a champion in the super bantamweight division again," Inoue said of his foe.
Attention now turns to what lies ahead for Inoue, who has come through his sternest test in the 122lb division.
"There's nothing I can say myself,” Inoue said. “I will discuss with Mr. Ohashi [my manager] about my future plan. I think Mr. Ohashi has a plan. So I'll discuss with Mr. Ohashi and then move forward. For me, it's a blank slate."
