After the stunning sixth-round victory against Luis Nery, Naoya Inoue confirmed that he was negotiating with IBF mandatory challenger Sam Goodman for a fight in September this year. Satisfied with his performance against Nery, Inoue had declared that he would “continue fighting intense bouts.” At this, boxing fans looked forward to seeing Inoue enter the ring against unbeaten Australian boxer Goodman. However, as per the latest updates, Junto Nakatani might substitute the Australian!

Well, Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani was not entirely unexpected. Since his professional debut in 2015, Nakatani has delivered electrifying performances winning 20 of his 27 fights via knockouts. The Ring Magazine even called Nakatani “the next monster.” Additionally, on being asked, the 26-year-old answered that he would like to fight Inoue “at the best possible time.” Looks like the time is here!

Nakatani, 27-0-0, is currently the WBC Bantamweight champion who will defend his title against Vincent Astrolabio this July. As per Nakatani, most people watch boxing because of the knockouts and the young fighter just wants to “live up to their expectations” which explains his 74.07% KO rate. Anyway, taking to X, Ryan O’Hara from Yahoo Sports and Fights ATW informed a potential mega-fight between Inoue and Nakatani was being looked into.

“I’m hearing a fight between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani is being explored. This is a mega fight. Four division champ vs. three division champion. #boxing #LFG,” he wrote. While fans hoped for a clash between Inoue and Nakatani, Junto was aware of the possibility too. However, he certainly did not think he would get a chance to face Inoue this early. On that note, what does Nakatani think of Naoya Inoue?

Junto Nakatani sang praise of “inspiration” Naoya Inoue’s adaptability

Although Junto Nakatani wanted to face Naoya Inoue, the former believed he had to increase his status before such a big fight could happen. So, in his opinion, Nakatani felt it was necessary for him to “unify the bantamweight division“. For the same reason, Nakatani understood it would take some time to reach that goal before facing Inoue. But, this year itself, we may get to see Inoue vs. Nakatani! In his interview with The Ring Magazine, Junto was asked what made Inoue so good as a boxer. “His adaptability is just off the chart,” he answered.

“No matter how powerful or fast your punch is, it doesn’t really matter if you can’t adjust. I think what’s great about him is that he can use his power, speed, skill and defense to fight against any opponent. He’s able to adapt to anything,” Nakatani thoughtfully concluded about the first Japanese boxer to make ¥1 billion in one night.

With that said, are you excited to see Naoya Inoue fight a fellow Japanese boxer in Junto Nakatani? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.