Inoue vs Nery undisputed junior featherweight showdown tops world title quadruple-header on Monday, May 6 at Tokyo Dome LIVE on ESPN+ + starting at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT.
Promoter Bob Arum reports that undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and his WBC mandatory Luis Nery are set for May 6th at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
A Prestigious Stage for a Big Fight
Arum says the “prestigious” Tokyo Dome is the same location where former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson lost to Buster Douglas in 1990, and it seats 50,000.
That’s a big stadium, but the Nissan Stadium seats 70,000 in Yokohama, Japan, and that would be ideal if the idea was to get as many fans as possible.
Post-Fight Plans: Japan, US, or the Desert?
If Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is victorious against the former two-division world champion Nery (35-1, 27 KOs), Arum says he could fight in the United States or possibly Saudi Arabia.
Arum doesn’t say who Inoue would be fighting, but it’s probable that he would be moving up to featherweight to challenge one of these three champions:
– Luis Lopez: IBF
– Rey Vargas: WBC
– Rafael Espinoza: WBO
If Inoue chooses to stay at 122, he’ll likely go ahead with his plans to defend against former world champions Murodjon Akhmadaliev and John Riel Casimero.
Those are less appealing options because both of those guys were recently beaten. Moreover, Casimero is long in the tooth and has a lot of miles on him.
Those fights would appeal more to the Japanese audiences than the U.S fans, who are aware that Casimero and Akhmadaliev were both beaten recently.
“He’s fighting Luis Nery in Japan on May 6th,” said Bob Arum to 3 Knockdown Rule about undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue defending against Luis Nery on May 6th in Japan.
“It is the first fight since Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas fought in the Tokyo Dome. It’s a very prestigious. The arena seats over 50,000, and with Inoue, it’ll be filled.
“The question of whether he wins that fight, he comes out of Japan to fight in the United States or Saudi Arabia, that’s really up to my co-promoter, and I’d have to talk to them at that time,” said Arum on whether Naoya Inoue will fight outside of his home country of Japan if he’s victorious against Nery.
“It’s a combination of what he can do in Japan financially, which is huge, and what he can do outside of Japan, which, particularly if we’re talking about the Saudi’s interest, it could be even greater. So, I honestly can’t answer that question,” said Arum.
In the co-feature, Australia’s Jason “Mayhem” Moloney (27-2, 19 KOs) is set to defend his WBO bantamweight world title against the ex-kickboxing champ, Yoshiki Takei (8-0, 8 KOs), who has knocked out all opponents in his boxing career so far.
Also on the card, Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs) will defend his WBA bantamweight title against the seasoned Sho Ishida (34-3, 17 KOs). The younger brother of Naoya Inoue, Takuma is keen to cement his own legacy in a division his sibling once dominated.
Rounding out the title fights, Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1, 11 KOs) will once again throw down with Taku Kuwahara (13-1, 8 KOs) for the WBA flyweight world title, revisiting their 2021 clash that left fans clamoring for more. This rematch promises to be a riveting sequel to their previous fierce encounter.
