TOKYO, Japan – While the spotlight in Tokyo has long belonged to Naoya Inoue, for Junto Nakatani, Saturday is about his own story.
“May 2nd will be a day when everything I've built up in my life will come together,” said Nakatani, translated from Japanese, at Thursday’s press conference.
Fifty-five-thousand will be in attendance for his bout with Inoue at the Tokyo Dome this Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Nakatani is not the star of the show, most will be there to witness “The Monster” Inoue in action, but for Nakatani it is about adding to his already impressive title collection.
“Not many boxers get to stand in a place like this,” the 28-year-old said. “It was a fun and fulfilling training camp. On May 2nd, I want to show everyone Junto Nakatani's story and win.”
That story now embarks on its toughest chapter. Across the ring will stand one of the finest fighters in the sport today, the pound-for-pound star and undisputed junior featherweight champion. Nakatani’s trainer Rudy Hernandez revealed his man has trained accordingly.
“He has been training for two and a half months,” said Hernandez. “But he understands he is fighting one of the greatest fighters of this generation. He’ll be ready.”
Preparation, by all accounts, has gone to plan.
“Weight adjustment is going smoothly,” Nakatani, 32-0 (24 KOs), said. “I'm in the stage of losing a few hundred grams in preparation for tomorrow's weigh-in.”
There was no sense of panic in Nakatani. No sign of a fighter overwhelmed by the huge task in front of him.
“My motivation is to see how many people will be moved by what one boxer has built up in the ring,” he said.
And when asked what he hopes to prove, Nakatani answered with one word: “Strength.”
