Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Monday lunchtime’s fight between undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue and Mexico’s Luis Nery at Tokyo Dome, Japan, live on Sky Sports.
When, where and how?
Inoue looks to extend his undefeated professional record and bolster his case for pound-for-pound greatness by defending his WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA junior featherweight titles against former two-weight world champion Nery.
It’s a treat for British fight fans on Monday lunchtime, with live coverage on Sky Sports Action starting at 9am before the main event ringwalk at around 12.15pm.
This begins a record-breaking week of boxing action live on Sky, with Lauren Price set to fight for a world title for the first time in her professional career when the Olympic champion fights Jessica McCaskill in Cardiff on Saturday May 11.
Elsewhere Down Under, the great Vasiliy Lomachenko will face George Kambosos for the vacant IBF world lightweight title on May 12 in Perth, Australia.
Live Fight Night International
Monday, May 6, 9:00 a.m
Naoya Inoue’s professional record
- Age: 31
- Height: 5’5.5″
- Total fights: 26
- Record: 26-0 (23 KOs)
Luis Nery’s professional balance sheet
- Age: 29
- Height: 5’5″
- Total fights: 36
- Record: 35-1 (27 KOs)
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Highlights of the WBC and WBO super bantamweight title fight between Stephen Fulton and Naoya Inoue from Tokyo, Japan.
What do I need to know about the fighters?
Inoue has established himself as one of the most dominant figures in world boxing, compiling a record of 26-0, including 23 wins by knockout. The Japanese star is ranked No. 2 on the pound-for-pound list behind Terence Crawford, having held world titles in four weight classes, becoming only the second man behind Crawford to be undisputed champion in two during the four-belt era classes was.
He enters the clash with a 10th-round knockout win over Marlon Tapales last December to become the undisputed super bantamweight champion after defeating former unified champion Stephen Fulton earlier this year.
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Naoya Inoue has devastating power in both hands and once he hurts you, there’s no turning back!
Nery boasts an impressive 35-1 record, including 27 wins by knockout, most recently defeating Froilan Saludar in the second round last July. Brandon Figueroa’s only career loss came in 2021, when he was knocked out in the seventh round by the American.
The 29-year-old has fought twice in Japan, most notably failing a drugs test after defeating Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2017 – his positive result was attributed to contaminated food – and winning the subsequent rematch after losing weight a year later had.
Naoya Inoue delivered another destructive performance last time out, defeating Marlon Tapales
Who is on the undercard?
The undercard action will feature Australia’s WBO bantamweight champion Jason Maloney (27-2, 19 KOs) defends his title against the former kickboxing world champion Yoshiki Takei (8-0, 8 KOs).
WBA bantamweight world champion Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs), Meanwhile, Naoya’s younger brother will put his title on the line against him Sho Ishida (34-3, 17 KOs).
WBA flyweight world champion Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1, 11 KOs) also faces Taku Kuwahara (13-1, 8 KOs) in a rematch of their 2021 clash, which the former emerged victorious after a stoppage in the 10th round.
Can anyone kill the monster of boxing?
Sky Sports’ Cam Hogwood…
It is tiny and very towering. Quiet and yet so very loud. He’s a little fast, a little scary, a little mysterious, a little good. He fights on Boxing Day and random days of the week. His superiority is missed by some, but defended as greatness by others.
Naoya Inoue might be the most dangerous man on the planet. Its dominance could also slip through the net of the mainstream far too often and far too easily.
He or His Excellency rarely ventures outside his Japanese fortress – only four times, in fact. There he is a god challenged by hopeful warriors who travel long and far only to be mercilessly killed by the real monster of boxing.
With Nery comes a willing fighter with a fearless spirit that will enable him to compete with Inoue. He is a capable contender but will be greeted by a completely different talent when he arrives in Tokyo. No one threatened Inoue; No one came close to threatening Inoue, no matter how qualified he was. Nery, for all his qualities, is just the next in line.