What are Inoue's keys to victory against fellow superstar Nakatani?

It’s only right that they see who reigns supreme in this domestic showdown today, when Inoue puts his undisputed super bantamweight world championship on the line against Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and live on DAZN.

Inoue (32-0, 27 knockouts) and Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) both last appeared on the same card in December when ‘The Monster’ delivered a unanimous decision over David Picasso and ‘Big Bang’ eked out a points win against Sebastian Hernandez.

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Watch: Tactical breakdown of both fighters

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Will Inoue deliver a scintillating performance in this historic Japanese mega fight? Or will Nakatani manage to send tremors through boxing with a big upset? DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for both the champ and challenger entering tonight.

Naoya Inoue’s Keys to Victory

Beat Nakatani to the punch early

Naoya Inoue has a sizeable advantage in footwork and hand speed. He ought to use both in tandem to get to his spots and beat Junto Nakatani to the punch early. If Inoue can do this successfully in early rounds, it could go long ways to demoralizing his domestic rival.

Change levels

Watch Inoue in action and the way he stabs to the body only to explode upward with a surgical punch across the jaw is a mark of sweet science brilliance.

Noting the edge he has on the feet with the quicker hands, it only behooves ‘The Monster’ to change levels frequently to confuse, frustrate and ultimately render Nakatani defeated.

Unleash the blistering combinations

Inoue is surgically clean and precise with his blistering combinations which can start and end in a variety of ways. Regardless of the opponent’s style he’s up against, ‘The Monster’ has a penchant of dipping into his deep boxing bag and seemingly pulling the right punch at the right time toward electric results.

Though he must be careful about leaving his chin exposed against Nakatani, Inoue has the hand speed to unleash a multi-punch combination that brings the Tokyo Dome — and the boxing world over — to a standstill in proving his status as arguably the pound-for-pound best in boxing today.

Junto Nakatani’s Keys to Victory

Cut the ring on Inoue

Junto Nakatani’s best bet at negating Naoya Inoue’s hand speed and nimble footwork is by cutting the ring in half on ‘The Monster’ as he cannot afford to be caught admiring the champ’s work.

Doing this could also give Nakatani ample opportunities to unleash his package of uppercuts.

Find a home with uppercuts

Nakatani has slicing action on his uppercuts, whether aimed at the body or through opponents’ guards. As brilliant as Inoue is, he can be hurt and dropped due to lapses in his guard.

Noting this, Nakatani must win battles on the inside and his uppercuts are just the weapons for the job — especially if he can catch an incoming Inoue as the champ is pressuring ahead.

Launch the uppercut-left hook combo

Watch Nakatani work and his uppercut-left hook combination is one of his best offerings. What’s special about the combo is how ‘Big Bang’ sets it up. Sometimes it comes as a right uppercut to the body and the left hook across the jaw.

Other times, the southpaw is doubling up with the left — first with an uppercut through the guard and then raking that hook against the chin. If Nakatani can throw the uppercut as a disguise to launch the left hook, he might catch Inoue with a counterpunch that shakes the boxing world to its core and crowns a new undisputed ruler.

Benavidez vs. Zurdo on DAZN PPV

Watch David Benavidez versus Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez on DAZN PPV this Saturday, May 2. Buy as a one-off PPV or get it included with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription, which also includes the Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), Usyk vs. Verhoeven (May 23), Fury vs. Hall (June 13) and Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPVs without any extra one-off costs.

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