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BackNaoya Inoue outshines Junto Nakatani in Tokyo showdown to keep super-bantamweight title
Naoya Inoue outshines Junto Nakatani in Tokyo showdown to keep super-bantamweight title
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Guardian Sport5/2/2026SportsUnited Kingdom

Naoya Inoue outshines Junto Nakatani in Tokyo showdown to keep super-bantamweight title

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Champion nicknamed the Monster holds off late surgeBoth boxers had unbeaten records entering SaturdayBattle billed as biggest fight in Japanese boxing historyNaoya Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super-bantamweight championship with a close but uncontroversial 12-round unanimous decision over Junto Nakatani in their eagerly anticipated showdown at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.Before a sellout crowd of about 55,000 spectators during Japan’s Golden Week holiday, Inoue held off a fierce late surge from his unbeaten rival to win by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and retain the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts at 122lb, extending his perfect record in what had been billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. (The Guardian had it 115-113 for Inoue.) Continue reading...

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This article was originally published by Guardian Sport.

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