Naoya Inoue defends undisputed crown in Tokyo thriller

Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super bantamweight world title with a unanimous decision victory over compatriot Junto Nakatani after a gripping 12-round contest in Tokyo on Saturday.

The 33-year-old, famously known as 'The Monster', extended his winning streak in world title bouts to 28 as judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 in his favour.

Both boxers entered the bout unbeaten at 32-0 in a contest which was billed as the biggest boxing match in Japanese history after Nakatani moved up a division late last year.

Inoue charged early before Nakatani appeared to close the gap in the latter half of the fight as the pace intensified, but a clash of heads late in the 10th round opened a cut above the challenger's eye and stalled his momentum.

Inoue said he stuck to his fight plan with full focus and respect for Nakatani’s mental strength and elite ranking, making the victory especially meaningful.

"Today I executed the plan that I'd been saying before the fight, to stay focused on winning, to make sure I was the one who came out as the winner," Inoue said.

"As you all know, Nakatani is a mentally strong boxer. The fact that he is in the (top 10) pound-for-pound rankings makes this win worthwhile."

The win improved Inoue's overall record to 33 victories, with 27 knockouts.

It is pertinent to mention that, Nakatani also put in a relentless performance in yesterday’s main event at the Tokyo Dome.

He not only challenged Inoue throughout the fight but also endured everything that came his way. The clearest sign of the physical toll emerged after the final bell, as Nakatani skipped any post-fight celebrations and was instead taken to the hospital.