Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super-bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Junto Nakatani on Saturday in one of the biggest fights 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 has galvanized fans here over 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 and jabs, but many 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.
Nakatani sustained a cut above his left eye in what appeared to be an accidental clash of heads and officials said he was going to a hospital to get it checked.
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 that 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 a world champion."
