Inoue and Nery Agree for May Showdown in Tokyo

Naoya Inoue and Luis Nery have reached an agreement for a May showdown in Tokyo, where Inoue will defend his undisputed junior featherweight championship.

Facing Inoue, Nery confronts substantial odds in his quest to become a two-time junior featherweight champion. Acknowledged as "The Monster," Inoue is a generational talent currently showcasing his peak prowess in the ring.

In a remarkable display of dominance, Inoue secured his undisputed title in the junior featherweight division, marking his second such victory in different weight classes within the past year. Prior to this, Inoue achieved undisputed status at 118 pounds by stopping Paul Butler in the 11th round of their December 2022 encounter.

Notably, Inoue has previously reigned as a champion at 108 and 115 pounds.

Nery, with a record of 35-1 and 27 KOs, persevered through a fierce battle against Azat Hovhannisyan last February and followed up with a convincing win over Froilan Saludar. However, Nery's history includes being unwelcome in Japan due to a failed drug test and consecutive weight misses in his knockout victories over Shinsuke Yamanaka. Despite an indefinite suspension from the Japan Boxing Commission in March 2018, there are assurances of Nery's reinstatement, according to sources. The suspension followed Nery's pair of stoppage wins against Japan's long-reigning champion Shinsuke Yamanaka, where the banned substance zilpaterol was detected in his system after capturing the WBC bantamweight title in August 2017.