“I don’t know. If there is enough demand, I think a second fight is possible,” said Naoya Inoue. “I have options ahead of me. It’s a blank slate.”
The problem is that the first fight didn’t leave fans asking for more. It was competitive, but cautious. Long stretches passed without either man committing to exchanges. Nakatani stayed upright and mechanical, working behind a tight structure without adjusting when rounds started slipping away.
The greed and lack of ambition labels usually come up when fans feel a great fighter is protecting their zero rather than chasing history. By suggesting he has a blank slate but still naming Nakatani, Inoue is basically testing the waters to see if he can get away with one more big domestic payday before the real risks begin at 126.
If Inoue wants to cement himself as the greatest of this era, he must deal with the physical nightmares that await at featherweight: Rafael Espinoza, Brandon Figeora, Bruce Carrington and Angelo Leo.
The criticism some fans have of Nakatani as one-dimensional or mechanical is fierce, but Saturday didn’t do much to dispel that. While he showed great mental stamina, his inability to change plans when Inoue’s jab neutralized him is exactly why people are grilling the idea of a sequel. If he couldn’t adjust in the first 12 rounds, it’s hard to sell the public on the idea that he’ll have the code for the second.
Interestingly, there is already talk of a massive shift in direction. With Turki Alalshikh in attendance on Saturday, whispers have already begun of a potential mega-fight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez for early 2027. If this is the “other stage” Inoue hinted at, it might satisfy the fans’ hunger for a true pound-for-pound challenge, even if it’s still only 126.
