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05/02 11:15 CDT Naoya Inoue beats Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision in Tokyo
to retain super-bantamweight belts
Naoya Inoue beats Junto Nakatani by unanimous decision in Tokyo to retain
super-bantamweight belts
By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) --- Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super-bantamweight crown
with a unanimous decision victory over Junto Nakatani on Saturday in one of the
biggest bouts in Japanese boxing history.
Two judges scored the fight 116-112, while one had it 115-113, all in favor of
Inoue after 12 rounds before a sell-out crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome.
Inoue (33-0, 27 KOs) kept his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts --- and then
apologized for not delivering a knockout.
The 33-year-old Inoue, nicknamed "The Monster" and hailed as Japan's greatest
boxer, also praised Nakatani (32-1, 24 KOs).
"He was a fighter with a strong heart. That's what makes this win mean so
much," said Inoue, a four-division champion.
The highly anticipated bout galvanized fans here for the past year with former
champions and other experts offering commentary. Most predictions had favored
Inoue because of his experience, speed and power.
The fight amply displayed both boxers' dexterity, in offense and defense, with
both taking nice swings as well as jabs, but a lot simply failed to land.
The 28-year-old Nakatani, a southpaw, used his longer reach to keep Inoue's
punches at bay, while Inoue simply swayed his body or got out of the way.
The challenger became more aggressive after the sixth round, moving forward to
try to land punches. But Inoue used his quick footwork to evade them, landing
some jabs back in the process.
"I came prepared so there were no surprises, but the champion was great," a
somber Nakatani said after absorbing his first professional loss.
Takuma Inoue also wins In a closely watched undercard, Inoue's younger brother Takuma (22-2, 5 KOs) beat former four-division champion Kazuto Ioka (32-5-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision to retain his WBC bantamweight title. "I really enjoyed the 12 exciting rounds, all thanks to my opponent, who is a legend," Takuma Inoue said. "I want to prove I'm not just Naoya Inoue's brother." Still, Takuma prevented Ioka from becoming a five-division champion, handing that possible honor to his brother, believed to have a good chance of doing just that. The story of the Inoue brothers, who took up boxing as youngsters and grew up in loving families that encouraged their pursuit, is well known among boxing fans here. Their father Shingo Inoue was at ringside for both fighters, as always. There was no doubt the big all-Japanese fight had endeared fans to both the skills and personalities of the boxers. Michifumi Hori, one such fan, proudly wore an Inoue T-shirt and said he was cheering for both Inoue brothers. "This is something you can't hope to see for another 50 years," he said. "I love boxing because it's about becoming world champion." ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama ___ AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
Takuma Inoue also wins In a closely watched undercard, Inoue's younger brother Takuma (22-2, 5 KOs) beat former four-division champion Kazuto Ioka (32-5-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision to retain his WBC bantamweight title. "I really enjoyed the 12 exciting rounds, all thanks to my opponent, who is a legend," Takuma Inoue said. "I want to prove I'm not just Naoya Inoue's brother." Still, Takuma prevented Ioka from becoming a five-division champion, handing that possible honor to his brother, believed to have a good chance of doing just that. The story of the Inoue brothers, who took up boxing as youngsters and grew up in loving families that encouraged their pursuit, is well known among boxing fans here. Their father Shingo Inoue was at ringside for both fighters, as always. There was no doubt the big all-Japanese fight had endeared fans to both the skills and personalities of the boxers. Michifumi Hori, one such fan, proudly wore an Inoue T-shirt and said he was cheering for both Inoue brothers. "This is something you can't hope to see for another 50 years," he said. "I love boxing because it's about becoming world champion." ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama ___ AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
