Japanese boxing stars Inoue and Nakatani poised for showdown if Saudi bouts go their way

The Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Manny Pacquiao bout happened probably five years too late. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua still haven’t fought.

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani are ready to square off now in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. No posturing, just two top pound-for-pound boxers in their prime seemingly willing to give fans what they want.

Here’s the catch: They each have one more fight and need to avoid a surprise before their expected showdown.

Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) is the undisputed super bantamweight (122 lbs) champion and the headliner Saturday in Saudi Arabia. He faces Mexico’s Alan David Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs). Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs), moving up in weight to make his debut in the division, faces Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (20-0, 18 KOs) — also Mexican — on the same card, a showcase of Japanese fighters.

“This is very important for Japanese boxing,” Inoue told The Associated Press through a translator.

Most important for Inoue and Nakatani, though, are victories that would clear the way for a blockbuster matchup, likely in Tokyo in May.

“Firstly, I have a plan to have a fight with Nakatani,” Inoue said of his goals for 2026. “Also, I have the idea that I may move up to the featherweight division.”

The buildup to the Riyadh event, billed as the “Night of the Samurai,” has been as much about Inoue-Nakatani as it has about their respective opponents Saturday. At a press event last month, promoters sat Inoue and Nakatani next to each other and made sure they were the last two off the stage during the photo session. The pair didn’t exchange chitchat or handshakes.

“Personally, I have no contact or connection with him,” the 32-year-old Inoue said. “Of course, I value his boxing, that’s why I’m looking forward to fighting him.”

With the retirement of Terence Crawford plus the injury layoff of undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, there’s a good argument that Inoue is now the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

The 5-foot-5 (1.65 meter) Japanese star, a four-division champion, uses precision combinations plus elite speed and power to dismantle opponents.

The Yokohama native has already fought three times this year, most recently a unanimous decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September.

In two of his past five fights, Inoue has overcome an early knockdown — both times from a left hook — en route to stoppage victories. Luis Nery stunned a Tokyo Dome crowd in May 2024 when he sent Inoue to the canvas in the first round. One year later, Ramon Cardenas dropped Inoue in the second round in Las Vegas.

Inoue's promoters made sure the Las Vegas fight was on ESPN rather than pay-per-view to expose him to a wider US audience. Bob Arum, Inoue’s promoter at Top Rank, had said he wants Inoue to reach Shohei Ohtani-level fame.

Inoue himself, however, isn't so sure.

“Apart from the boxing, I’m a boring person. I just focus on boxing.”

At 5-foot-8 (1.72 meters), Picasso has height and reach advantages on Inoue, but probably not much else. Inoue is a -3000 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook, and -700 to win by stoppage.

“The pressure is on Inoue, he needs to win,” the 25-year-old Picasso told AP, also through a translator. “I have nothing to lose. Everybody expects him to win.”

Picasso, who has studied neuroscience at university, vowed to take Inoue’s belts in what he said will be “Mexican Aztec warrior night.”

“I come to win. I will beat this guy. I will beat the Monster.”

Picasso's training team includes cardio coach Germán Silva, who twice won the New York City Marathon (1994 and ’95).

Just like Inoue, the 27-year-old Nakatani has been collecting world titles as he’s progressed through weight categories. The three-division champion vacated his two belts at bantamweight to move from 118 lbs to 122 lbs.

“I feel I have gained power and speed as well,” he told AP.

Nakatani, nicknamed “Big Bang," said he's not overlooking his 25-year-old Mexican opponent: “He has a strong punch and he’s very strong-willed."

Nakatani's goal for 2026 is pretty simple.

“I’m going to be the champion at super bantamweight.”

The event at the 22,000-capacity Mohammed Abdo Arena is available pay per view on DAZN with a subscription. The ring walk for Inoue's fight is expected to be just before 4 p.m. local time (1 p.m. London, 8 a.m. ET), which is 10 p.m. in Japan. Nakatani's bout is scheduled to begin about 70 minutes before Inoue's fight.

AP boxing: https://www.apnews.com/boxing

FILE - Mexico's David Picasso, left, and Armenia's Azat Hovhannisyan fight during their WBC Super Bantamweight Silver Voluntary boxing match at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

FILE - Junto Nakatani trains at a gym in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

FILE - Junto Nakatani hits Andrew Moloney in a junior bantamweight title boxing match Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - Japanese champion Naoya Inoue speaks during a press conference after winning over Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev in a boxing match for the unified WBC IBF WBO WBA super bantamweight world title in Nagoya, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

FILE - Naoya Inoue celebrates after defeating Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

ASSEN, Netherlands (AP) — A priceless ancient golden helmet from Romania stolen last year from a museum in the Netherlands has been recovered, Dutch authorities announced Thursday.

Under the guard of heavily armed, balaclava-clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization, during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen.

“We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It has been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”

The helmet was on display at the small museum in January 2025, the last weekend of a six-month-long exhibition, when thieves broke in and grabbed it, along with three golden wristbands.

There were fears the helmet may have been melted down because its fame and dramatic studded appearance made it virtually unsellable.

Two of three missing armbands were also recovered as part of a deal prosecutors reached with three men arrested for the heist shortly after it occurred. Their trial will begin later in April.

Fahner said the search for the remaining armband would continue.

The helmet did not return unscathed.

“The helmet is slightly dented, but there will be no permanent damage,” Drents Museum director Robert van Langh said during the news conference. “The armbands are in perfect condition.”

Thieves used a homemade firework bomb and sledgehammer to break into the museum. Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.

The theft put a strain on relations between the Netherlands and Romania

Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year called the incident a “crime against our state” and said recovering the artifacts “is an absolute priority.”

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Associated Press writers Molly Quell and Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Netherlands.

A stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)

A Police officer stands by a stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)

Police officers stand by a stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)