Bob Arum on Naoya Inoue: Christmas Eve card, U.S. return, Junto Nakatani showdown awaits

Naoya Inoue fell short of producing his routinely dynamic showings Tuesday when he successfully defended his claim as undisputed junior-featherweight champion by stopping veteran TJ Doheny in Tokyo.

Yet, Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is poised to launch a riveting stretch of his career, according to his American promoter Bob Arum, who watched Inoue’s fight from ringside and spoke to BoxingScene minutes after joining the fighter in the post-fight ring.

Arum speculated that Inoue, 31, took a more cautious, deliberate route to victory over Doheny, 37, for two primary reasons. First, Inoue avoided an early firefight after getting knocked down in the first round of his May victory over Mexico’s Luis Nery.

More than that, Inoue was aware Doheny (26-5) had rehydrated to an estimated 147 pounds, according to Arum, after making weight for the 122-pound title bout.

After a muted response through five rounds, Inoue went to the body in the sixth and set up an anticlimactic ending with another combination that caused Doheny to turn away and walk in resignation to his corner in the seventh, indicating back pain and then the inability to walk without the support of companions.

“The guy (Inoue) is sensational … he battered him about the body, and within the next 30 seconds, he was going to knock him out,” Arum said.

The victory moves Inoue toward a planned Christmas Eve date back in Tokyo, most likely against top-ranked contender (WBO/IBF) and prohibitive underdog Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) of Australia, Arum said.

Following that, Arum told the crowd he’s bringing Inoue to Las Vegas for a “celebration” card that he later elaborated on with BoxingScene.

“Best guy available … ,” Arum said of the possible Las Vegas opponent. “It’s got to be a big thing because we’re going to bring thousands of people to Las Vegas from Japan. It’s going to be something really special.”

Arum speculated an April date might be best for Inoue’s first fight in the U.S. since 2021 and his fourth bout here overall.

With three-division and current unbeaten bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani readying to headline an October 14 two-day spectacular of boxing in Japan, Arum said he’d like to place Nakatani and some other top Japanese fighters on the U.S. show, aiming for Inoue and Nakatani to build a showdown “later in the year” in the Tokyo Dome.

“It’s going to be a heavily Japanese card. They have so many terrific lighter-weight fighters,” Arum said of the U.S. date.

While Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations Carl Moretti sought to let Inoue’s coming bouts play out one at a time, he agreed Arum’s master plan “could happen.”

Arum said he told Inoue he was proud of the fighter, and assured the fighter he’ll return to watch Inoue in Japan again in December.

“Even more important, I’m looking forward to the tremendous event for him in Las Vegas,” Arum said.