WBN Fighter of the Year Naoya Inoue will return to action on May 6 in a historic fight following in the footsteps of heavyweight great Mike Tyson.
Japan’s pound-for-pound hero and the current WBN Fighter of the Year will headline the biggest boxing event his country has ever seen. The spring offering will be even more significant than Tyson vs. Buster Douglas in 1990.
The undisputed super bantamweight champion puts his belts on the line against Mexican puncher Luis Nery at the world-famous Tokyo Dome.
Inoue, a four-weight world champion and two-weight undisputed king, will headline at the iconic venue for the first time.
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum is purring at the thought of Inoue reaching superstar levels worldwide.
Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery
“Naoya Inoue is the world’s best fighter, a young man who amazes me whenever he enters the ring. Luis Nery is a tough challenger, but I fully expect Inoue to get the job done in front of more than 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum.
The Tokyo Dome opened in March 1988 and has a brief but storied boxing history. Four days after the venue’s grand opening, Tyson defended the undisputed heavyweight championship with a second-round TKO over Tony Tubbs in front of 51,000 spectators.
The last professional boxing event at “The Big Egg” occurred in February 1990. In one of the sport’s greatest upsets, James “Buster” Douglas knocked out Tyson in the 10th round to capture the undisputed crown.
Co-feature and undercard
At a press conference in Japan, Arum confirmed the co-feature and a place on the bill for Inoue’s world title holding brother Takuma.
“In addition to this incredible main event, we have a spectacular undercard highlighted by Jason Moloney. The road warrior is coming to Japan determined to show he’s the world’s best bantamweight.”
The world title quadruple header also features WBA bantamweight world champion Takuma Inoue, who is 19-1, 5 KOs, and the younger sibling of Naoya. He defends his title against former world title challenger Sho Ishida.
In a flyweight world title tilt, newly minted WBA world champion Seigo Yuri Akui battles Taku Kuwahara in a rematch of their 2021 Japanese title bout. Akui won the first via tenth-round TKO.
Inoue vs Nery and three additional world title showdowns will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT. Prime Video will air the fight in Japan as Inoue bids to rubberstamp his place as the Pound for Pound number one.
Follow WBN: X.com, Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Threads.
