Chairman Hideyuki Ohashi Reveals Three Worries Before Naoya Inoue’s Tokyo Dome Event

Inoue’s match was staged as a historic event with attention to detail. Entrances and walkways for the players were created in the outfield, giant screens were lined up, and fire pillars added color. At Inoue’s request, a surprise live performance by guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei (62) was arranged for his entrance.

On the other hand, the Tokyo Dome is also the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants, and on the previous day, May 5th, a day game against the Hanshin Tigers was held. Due to the setup work being done immediately after the game ends, there is no allowance for extended play. The game ended with the Tigers leading 4-2 until the 9th inning, when the closer took the mound and held the Giants’ lineup to three players.

“If the game had gone into extra innings until the 12th, the setup wouldn’t have been completed on time, and we were more eager for victory than any Tigers fan nationwide. The first batter for the Giants in the bottom of the 9th was star batter Yomiuri (Hayato Sakamoto), so I nervously watched the baseball game until the end.”

Due to the rush to set up, Hotei’s live performance became a spontaneous performance. He performed an arrangement of the theme song from the movie “Kill Bill” called “Battle of Monsters,” but the distance from the dressing room to the ring was long, and it seemed like the song would end before Inoue entered the ring. Hotei improvised to adjust the timing.

“We had Hotei perform live for the Donaire fight in 2022 as well. At that time, it was a familiar place at the Saitama Super Arena, but the Dome is huge even on the inside, and it was difficult to navigate.

Also, we weren’t informed about the sound effects from the fire pillars, so when a huge sound echoed midway through the entrance, both I, Shingo (Inoue’s father and trainer), and Hotei were surprised by the sound. But Inoue remained focused and continued straight ahead without being startled.”