Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani, billed as The Day , was a super bantamweight undisputed championship professional boxing match contested between the reigning WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring super bantamweight champion, Naoya Inoue, and undefeated former three-weight world champion Junto Nakatani. Inoue defeated Nakatani by UD to retain his undisputed super bantamweight titles. The bout took place on May 2, 2026 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
Background Following Naoya Inoue's victory over Ramon Cardenas on 4 May 2025, discussions surrounding a potential fight with Junto Nakatani intensified. The two fighters had previously crossed paths at the Japanese Boxing Awards on 31 March 2025, where Inoue challenged Nakatani to a bout at the Tokyo Dome in 2026. Nakatani accepted the challenge, responding, "Let's do it."
On 6 March 2026, it was officially announced that Inoue would defend his undisputed super bantamweight championship against undefeated Japanese challenger Junto Nakatani on 2 May 2026. The fight was confirmed as one of the most anticipated all-Japanese boxing matchups, with Nakatani moving up to the super bantamweight division in pursuit of a fourth world title. Both fighters entered the bout undefeated with identical records of 32–0, making the contest a major event in Japanese boxing history.
Reception The fight reportedly sold over 1 million PPV buys on Lemino. It also generated $32 million from ticket sales. The fight took place in front of a sell-out crowd of 55,000 fans, with additional money earned from merchandising, sponsorships, and advertising. The gate was ranked the 4th highest in boxing history.
Fight card
Weight classvs.MethodRoundTimeNotesMain cardSuper bantamweightNaoya Inoue (c)def.Junto NakataniUD123:00BantamweightTakuma Inoue (c)def.Kazuto IokaUD123:00FeatherweightToshiki Shimomachidef.Reiya AbeMD103:00WelterweightJin Sasakidef.Sora TanakaSD103:00FlyweightKosuke TomiokadrawShogo TanakaSD103:00Super middleweightYuito Moriwakidef.Deok No YunSD103:00Super bantamweightYoshiki Takeidef.DeKang WangMD83:00
Broadcasting Country/RegionFree-to-airCable/SatellitePPVStream (host) colspan="2" Lemino colspan="3" colspan="3" DAZN colspan="3" DAZN colspan="2" Kayo colspan="3"
References