Promoter says Junto Nakatani fight is closer than betting line despite picking Inoue to win
Bob Arum has backed Naoya Inoue to beat Junto Nakatani but says the fight is closer than the betting odds suggest. He pointed to Nakatani’s skill and power while questioning the wide gap in the current line.
Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) defends his undisputed 122-pound titles against Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) at the Tokyo Dome in a fight being pushed as the biggest in Japanese boxing history, with around 55,000 expected in attendance. Both fighters are unbeaten and sit near the top of most pound-for-pound lists, giving the bout a level of credibility that doesn’t need much sales work.
“Nakatani is a tremendous fighter who is very skilled and has a lot of punching power. But Inoue seems to me to be a generational fighter and one of the best fighters around. He can box, punch, can take a punch, and is very smart,” said Arum to The Ring. “If I had to bet, I’d take Inoue.”
Where Arum did break from the promotional script was on the betting line. Inoue is listed around a -400 favorite, with Nakatani at +300, and Arum said that number doesn’t match the reality of the matchup.
“The fight is not as wide as the oddsmakers have it. Maybe it’s a 3/2 fight. The line is dictated by the reputation Inoue has gotten over the years. Not that he shouldn’t be the favorite. He should be. But not that wide of a margin.
“Inoue getting older is an obvious concern as he continues fighting. 32 is just a number, and it depends on the individual. So far, I have not seen any slippage for Inoue.”
Arum said Top Rank still has involvement with both fighters on the U.S. side after years of working with them, which adds another layer to his view. He’s not neutral here, even if he did acknowledge the fight is closer than the odds suggest.