Historically, what fight has in common in a possible Inoue vs Nakatani fight? I keep thinking Barrera vs Morales.

El_Escorpion1y ago

Naoya Inoue challenged Junto Nakatani to a fight on March 31, 2025, during the Japanese Boxing Commission awards ceremony in Tokyo. Inoue proposed the bout take place at the Tokyo Dome in 2026, and Nakatani accepted by shaking hands and saying, "Sure, let's do it." A top level fight that Inoue that stated could happen at Super Bantamweight in recent interviews. 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In Barrera vs Morales in February 19, 2000, in a bout dubbed "Campeón vs. Campeón," Barrera (49-2-1, 36 KOs) had established himself as a formidable force in the super bantamweight division at 26 years old until his ability was questioned after his consecutive losses to Junior Jones. He fought a young but quite accomplished 23 year old Erik Morales (35-0, 28 KOs). Who had won his title by beating a veteran in Daniel Zaragoza and then defended his Super Bantamweight title against champions like Junior Jones and Wayne McCullough in his 9 defense streak inside 2 years. 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\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=="}{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/www.boxingscene.com\/forums\/core\/image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=="}{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/www.boxingscene.com\/forums\/core\/image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=="} There doesn't seem to be any kind of antagonism between the two top Japanese boxers, it seems more dispute who is leading the current golden age in the sport of their country as the best fighter and aim to please Japan's fanbase, unlike the Mexican boxers who had personal turmoil, history, personality and upbringing differences with Barrera being brought up in a wealthy family in contrast to Morales. Along with contemporaneous events of Barrera being dismissed as a washed fighter after losing recently despite what he accomplish later on, whereas Morales had built a pretty good reputation at 23 years old. Barrera was known for being a more cerebral, tactical fighter who used his boxing IQ to control the pace at 126-130, however despite not being a one punch KO artist like Inoue, he was a heavy handed combination punching pressure fighter prior facing Junior Jones, changing fundamentally his style to a refined textbook boxer puncher after both his losses thanks to his notable amateur credentials along with receptive trainers like Rudy Perez and Sendai Tanaka. While Morales was a brawler who took a more aggressive approach that could fight at any range capitalizing on his reach, having refined well timed controlled aggression, he was also versatile enough to box or brawl depending on the situation. Naoya Inoue at 122, holds a notable streak of wins over champions like Stephen Fulton (21-0), Marlon Tapales (37-3), Luis Nery (35-1), and TJ Doheny (26-4). He holds a record of (6-0, 6 KOs) at the division over 5 champions. Naoya Inoue stands at 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) with a reach of 67+1⁄2 in (171 cm). Currently holds a record of (30-0, 27 KOs) being (6-0, 6 KOs) at 122. Marco Antonio Barrera stands at 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) with a reach of 70 in (178 cm). At 122 he holds a record of (25-3, 21 KOs) at Super Bantamweight as he debuted and competed at Super Flyweight. Barrera had not beaten that many champions at 122 outside of Jesus Salud (69-5, 37 KOs), Daniel Jimenez (19-3, 10 KOs), and Kennedy McKinney (28-1-1, 17 KOs). But his ability at his prime of a younger Barrera was displayed against Morales (35-0, 28 KOs) in a quite controversial loss. He then went to beat Peden, Juarez X2, Kelley, Ayala, Tapia, Hamed and Morales X2 Junto Nakatani stands at 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) with a reach of 69 1⁄4 in (176 cm). Nakatani holds a record of (30-0, 24 KOs). At Bantamweight. A division below 122, he holds a record of (4-0, 4 KO wins). At the division he has beaten 1 champion in Alexandro Santiagoso so far in contrast to Inoue 5 champions at Super Bantamweight. Like Morales, he is the younger and physically fighter between him and Naoya. At 27 years old in comparison to the 32 year old Inoue. Erik Morales stands at 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) with a reach of 72 in (183 cm). Morales holds a record of (36-0, 28 KOs). With a history of beating Daniel Zaragoza, Junior Jones, Wayne McCullough and Marco Antonio Barrera in the division. Later beating the likes of Kevin Kelley, Guty Espadas Jr X2, Chi In-Jin, Paulie Ayala, and Manny Pacquiao. What other fight is a similiar or better comparison to a fight between Inoue and Nakatani? Would it deliver such a competitive fights considering their physical attributes and skills Or would one overtake the other quite dominantly instead?

Comments (5)

MulaKO

10mo ago

El_Escorpion

tapales was a champion at 118 and 122. his title winning fight at 118 was great. that was the first time i watched him. i like that ref didn't stop the fight after 2 knock downs and then tapales won. those kind of fights are my favourite but refs rob us with premature stoppages these days. 4 out of 4 then, should had checked Tapales's history properly. Solid run from what I am checking, he beat world champions like Pungluang Sor Singyu and Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Another notable win is over former ranked contender, Hiroaki Teshigawara. Also agree that referees now do premature stoppages unless the fighter is a home favorite, a recent good of a case where a fight wasn't stopped would be Espinoza vs Ramirez I, where Espinoza was still buzzed after the knockdown and tripped to the ropes, which injured his foot. Yet he recovered in the next round and gave a fierce fight, that let him score his own knockdown and outwork his opponent even through the pain.

10mo ago

drablj

he had beaten Tapales, Fulton, Nery and Donaire, all champions at 122. 3 out of 4 multiple division current champions excluding Tapales. tapales was a champion at 118 and 122. his title winning fight at 118 was great. that was the first time i watched him. i like that ref didn't stop the fight after 2 knock downs and then tapales won. those kind of fights are my favourite but refs rob us with premature stoppages these days.

10mo ago

El_Escorpion

Morales and Barrera were 1 and 2 at 122 when they fought so it's a bit different since nakatani would be moving up to fight inoue. I would expect nakatani to have a lot of success at 122 even if he lost to inoue but a true 1 vs 2 is something even better, and I mean proven guys not ennis vs staniosis where nobody in the Division ever fought each other so by default they ended up at the top. Another comparison I like to add, is that people thought Barrera was in downslide like People think Naoya Inoue is also in the downslide for his recent knockdowns, even with Barrera coming off 7 (6 KOs) wins before fighting Morales, Erik was the favorite. As he was the younger fighter with a dominant streak over more former/current champions, one of them being Jones that had Barrera's number at the time. He was also quite physically big for the division and could fight at either stance as a affective switch hitting fighter. However Marco proved them wrong after having rocked and knocked down Morales in the first fight who no one else had done prior. Barrera had lost quite controversially, then went to have a 126-130 run beating Peden, Kelley, Juarez X2, Ayala, Tapia, Hamed, and Morales X2. Etc. Naoya Inoue is also the older fighter between Nakatani and himself. I get Nakatani is moving up and this doesn't make it a fight between the top 2 of the same division, but to be fair, Inoue is always the smaller fighter at Super Bantamweight, he is more accomplished of course, as outside his wins at below Super Bantamweight, he had beaten Tapales, Fulton, Nery and Donaire, all champions at 122. 3 out of 4 multiple division current champions excluding Tapales. But their dimensions aren't as long as those of Nakatani's. This would pose a new challenge that people really haven't seen from him. To make this more challenging, Nakatani is a southpaw and an excellent long range fighter. Nakatani also has outstanding punching power and corkscrew his punches, if he lands like Cardenas and Nary had done, Inoue might not be able to stand up after the count down. Edit: Also wanted to add that Nakatani vs Inoue could a historical top fight at 122 like: Nonito Donaire vs Guillermo Rigondeaux (2013) Rafael Marquez vs Israel Vazquez (2007) Somsak Sithchatchawal vs. Mahyar Monshipour(2006) Marco Antonio Barrera vs Erik Morales (2000) Wilfredo Vasquez vs. Orlando Canizales (1995) Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor (1982) The fight would be a great addition to the history of the division.

10mo ago

daggum

10mo ago