Naoya Inoue is the man who holds hostage the route to glory and fame in the bantamweight division. Every boxer has to go through him if they want to claim the gold for himself. But the Japanese boxer hasn’t allowed anyone to date to pass. But Junto Nakatani intends to be the first. However, he might have to cross another hurdle with the Inoue name on it first.

Nakatani, 26, is the current WBC bantamweight champion but harbors the intention to move up to 122 and challenge ‘The Monster’. He made those intentions clear in a conversation with The Boxing Mob when he declared, “This fight [with Naoya Inoue] is one of our goals, a big match… If I beat Inoue, I think I will get a lot of recognition. Pound-for-pound, I have a goal to be ranked No. 1.”

But Inoue, 31, has different plans, as he now prepares for a Christmas Eve fight against Sam Goodman, who is Inoue’s WBO and IBF mandatory. A fight between the two was on the table until the Australian boxer withdrew because of an injury. Alternatively, the Zama native could pick Murodjon Akhmadaliev, his WBA mandatory. But he has specified to Nakatani that a fight between them would only happen after he defeats his brother, Takuma Inoue.

Inoue, at 28-0, declared, “Before he [Nakatani] moves up to fight me, he will have to fight my brother Takuma. That’s not easy. Because Takuma will be a very tough opponent and a thick wall for Nakatani.”

Notably, the younger of the Inoue brothers is the current WBA bantamweight champion and has carved out an image for himself, despite being in the shadows of his elder brother. If Nakatani can brush aside Takuma, then it will set up a revenge match between him and the elder of the Inoue brothers. And it could happen in 2025.

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani on a collision course for 2025

Bob Arum, in a conversation with BoxingScene, chalked out the 3-fight plan for Inoue. The Top Rank lynchpin has decided to put the four-division champion on a Christmas Eve card against Goodman. He then wants to bring Inoue back to American shores in April to the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. His plan will culminate in a trip back to Tokyo Dome and against Nakatani later in the year if the latter keeps on winning and then decides to move up.

“It’s going to be a heavily Japanese card. They have so many terrific lighter-weight fighters,” Arum explained his expectation of the U.S. card. It remains to be seen how far Nakatani could hold on to his unblemished record and whether he has what it takes to defeat Inoue.

What do you make of this speculative fight between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani? Who will win in this tussle for supremacy at bantamweight? Let us know in the comment below.