Boxing’s dynamic duo will reunite for the holiday season.
Naoya Inoue and Yokishi Takei will both make their third title defenses on the show this year. A doubleheader of the title fight is on December 24th at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Inoue (28-0, 25 knockouts) will challenge for his RING/undisputed junior featherweight crown. Takei (11-0, 8 KOs) puts his WBO bantamweight title on the line for the second time.
The official challengers for both have not yet been announced as they go to press. However, a press conference is confirmed for Thursday, which will be streamed live on Lemino to confirm those details.
Inoue is widely believed to defend his RING/undisputed 122-pound championship against IBF mandatory challenger Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs). The match is currently slated for a purse hearing later this month, but a deal was always expected to be reached.
Inoue, The Ring’s no. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, will attempt his fourth overall defense of at least two 122-pound titles. He will be making the third defense of his RING Championship, all in an active 2024 campaign. He scored knockouts in all four wins at the weight.
The whole ride included Takei along for the ride. The December 24 fight date will mark the sixth consecutive time they will appear on the same show. The first came in December 2022, when Inoue knocked out Paul Butler to fully unify the bantamweight division. In the historic moment, Inoue became Japan’s first ever undisputed champion in the three or four belt era.
Two fights later, Inoue joined an exclusive list of fighters to collect all four major belts and The Ring Championship at two or more weights.
Takei’s first title win came on the undercard of Inoue’s May 4 sixth round knockout of Luis Nery at the Tokyo Dome.
During the event, Takei dethroned Australia’s Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) to lift the WBO bantamweight title. His reign is part of a golden era for Japan, whose fighters hold all four major bantamweight titles. It’s a fitting extension of Inoue’s undisputed championship reign at the weight before he abdicated last January.
Inoue and Takei picked up victories in separate matches at this very arena on September 3rd.
In the main event, Inoue earned a seventh round injury stoppage of TJ Doheny. In the main event, Takei fended off determined compatriot Daigo Higa to earn a twelve-round unanimous decision.
