Turki Al-Sheikh wants Naoya Inoue to fight Junto Nakataini in December in a Riyadh Season clash. He says that’s one that he wants, but if it doesn’t happen, he still wants a “great fight.”
Avoiding the Apex
If Turki wants any recommendations for opponents for Inoue, I have a pack of apex predators who would jump at the chance to expose the 31-year-old. However, I don’t think he would agree to fight any of them because they’re too good.
Inoue is expected to reschedule against Sam Goodman, who had been planning to fight last month on January 24th until he pulled out with a cut. Instead, Naoya fought replacement opponent Ye Joon Kim and knocked him out in four rounds.
That was yet another mismatch in the long line of them for Inoue, and fans are getting tired of seeing him not take on the opposition that has a shot at beating him. Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) might be a little too good for Inoue, so he may get the same treatment as Murodjon Akhmadaliev is receiving by being ignored.
Turki didn’t mention any names, but fans would like to see Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) take some risky fights for a change.
The Challenger Pool
– Murodjon Akhmadaliev
– Rafael Espinoza
– Bruce Carrington
– Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunuez
– Emanuel Navarrete
There doesn’t seem to be much interest from Inoue in fighting any of those five fighters, and for good reason. Most, if not all of them, would beat ‘The Monster’ Inoue and bring him down to earth.
December in Riyadh
“In December, we’ll do Inoue. I prefer against the Champion from Japan. Yeah,” said Turki Al-Sheikh to ESPN about wanting Naoya Inoue to fight WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani in December. “But if it doesn’t happen, it’ll be one of the great fights.
“He’s [Inoue] special, and this year, we celebrate the 75 years between our country [Saudi Arabia] and Japan. Japan is very important for us, and we will do very big events in a long week in December,” said Turki.
Last Updated on 02/08/2025
