Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Stephen Fulton (not pictured) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI/AFP) (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)
Naoya Inoue may have a fight scheduled for this spring in what could be an action fight.
Inoue and once-defeated contender Luis Nery reportedly agreed to a junior featherweight championship clash in May. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger first broke the story Tuesday afternoon.
The 12-round fight will reportedly take place in Tokyo, Japan, near Inoue’s hometown of Yokohama.
A showdown between Inoue and Nery has long been rumored in recent weeks. Hideyuki Ohashi recently announced a plan for Inoue to fight three times in 2024, which included a fight against Nery.
A fight between Inoue and Nery could produce exciting fights given the high volume of striking they have exhibited in the past.
Inoue, 30, (26-0, 23 knockouts), won the Ring junior featherweight championship by stopping Marlon Tapales in the ninth round. Tapales held the IBF and WBA world title belts before the clash with Inoue.
Naoya Inoue and Luis Nery have agreed to a May fight in Tokyo for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship, sources tell @MikeCoppinger. pic.twitter.com/XzN1NshY5L
– ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) January 9, 2024
Nery, who resides in Tijuana, Mexico, became the WBC’s mandatory challenger, stopping Azat Hovhannisyan on February 18 in one of the best-action fights of 2023. In his last fight on July 8, the southpaw Nery stopped to Froilán Saludar in the second round.
There is an obstacle in terms of Nery fighting in Japan. The Japan Boxing Commission banned Nery from fighting there after his two fights with Shinsuke Yamanaka. In his first fight in 2017, Nery stopped WBC bantamweight world champion Yamanaka in the fourth round but tested positive for the banned substance zilpaterol.
In a rematch in March 2018, Nery stopped Yamanaka in the second round. At the weigh-in the day before, Nery was three pounds over the bantamweight limit of 118 pounds. Yamanaka decided to continue the fight, as the vacant WBC title was only on the line for him.
According to Coppinger, Japan Boxing Commission officials have assured Nery and his team that the ban will be lifted so the fight against Inoue can go forward.
Nery (35-1, 27 KOs) has won his last four fights since a knockout loss to Brandon Figueroa in May 2021 in a junior featherweight title fight. Nery, 29, is currently ranked No. 5 by The Ring at 122 pounds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County, California, Star newspaper. He can be contacted at [email protected]
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