Junto Nakatani Plans To Fight Both Inoue Brothers: ‘Takuma and then Naoya’
Bantamweight world champion Junto Nakatani has revealed that plans are being worked on for him to fight Takuma Inoue and his pound-for-pound superstar brother Naoya.
Nakatani (28-0-0 21 KO) has emerged as a pound-for-pound star in his own right and earlier this year became a three-weight world champion by claiming the WBC’s 118-pound belt. The 26-year-old southpaw will make the second defense of his title on October 14 against Sor Chitpattana (76-1-53 KO) as part of a two-day boxing festival in Tokyo, Japan.
However, promoters Top Rank are planning bigger and better fights for Nakatani and are aiming for the Japanese star to feature on the undercard of Naoya Inoue’s return to the United States in early 2025. If all goes to plan, that will be followed by a super-fight between Nakatani and undisputed super-bantamweight champion Inoue.
‘The Monster’ has previously suggested that Nakatani first fights his brother Takuma – the WBA’s bantamweight champion – in a unification bout before a showdown between the two Japanese stars, and Nakatani appears to agree.
“I’m going to do what I have to do for now,” Nakatani told BoxingScene. “If there is a chance, I will. I would like first to fight his brother Takuma and then Naoya.”
Inoue, the second male fighter after Terence Crawford to be undisputed in two divisions during the four-belt era, made the second defense of his titles last month with a dominant seventh-round victory over TJ Doheny.
Nakatani said he was impressed by Inoue’s performance against the Irish challenger, adding: “TJ Doheny was a high-class opponent in his last fight and Naoya still knocked him out, so we have to give him credit. We’re going to try to make that fight happen.”
A fight between Nakatani and Inoue would go down as the biggest bout in Japanese boxing history, but that is just one target of several huge ambitions for the bantamweight star.
Nakatani said he plans to remain at 118lbs until he becomes undisputed champion and is targeting the rare achievement of winning titles in six divisions, with eventual climbs to super-bantamweight, featherweight, and super-featherweight. He won his first world title at flyweight.
Another fight on Nakatani’s radar is with super-flyweight star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who like Nakatani, emerged as a pound-for-pound star this year by stopping the great Juan Francisco Estrada to become a two-weight world champion.
Before any of that, though, Nakatani has a fight to focus on in the coming weeks against the experienced Chitpattana. The Thai fighter has racked up a huge record, although he has only fought once outside of his home country, incidentally losing a 2018 bout to Takuma Inoue for the interim bantamweight belt. Nakatani is therefore a massive favorite to extend his unbeaten record.
“Sor Chitpattana is a good contender but I’m focused on training and what I am doing,” said Nakatani. “I feel stronger at 118 pounds since I don’t have to cut the extra weight. My speed helps trigger knockouts.”
