Fifth world title fight to be added to Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery card
Yesterday it was confirmed that Naoya Inoue would make a first defence of his undisputed super-bantamweight title against Luis Nery at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, topping an eye-catching bill that features three additional world title fights on the undercard.
However, it seems that Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions are not done yet, with a fifth clash for world honours set to be announced.
During 2023, Inoue put forward his case to be the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet by becoming just the second man to become a two-division four-belt undisputed champion, picking up the 2023 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year award to further highlight his success.
Now ‘The Monster’ is poised for sixth consecutive contest in Japan, as the national hero faces off with the national villain, Nery, who was previously the subject of a lifetime ban by the Japanese Boxing Commission. Nevertheless, the suspension has been lifted to allow for the clash to take place in Inoue’s home country rather than in the United States, and the card looks set to be one of the strongest of the year, with a plethora of Japanese talent jumping at the chance to appear on the undercard.
Takuma Inoue (19-1) and Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1) will defend their WBA bantamweight and flyweight titles respectively, meanwhile Australia’s Jason Moloney (27-2) defends his WBO bantamweight crown against hard-hitting home fighter Yoshiki Takei (8-0).
Yet, The Ring reports that a fifth showdown for world honours is expected to be added, once Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has vacated his IBF flyweight title.
“There are also tentative plans to add a flyweight bout between Mexico’s Angel Ayala (17-0, 7 KOs), No. 7 at 112, and the Philippines’s Dave Apolinario (20-0, 14 KOs). Original plans call for the two to meet for the IBF flyweight title.”
Rodriguez also holds the WBO belt, but it expected to move up to super-flyweight imminently, allowing Ayala and Apolinario to face off for the vacant strap on May 6th.