<figure id="attachment_451242" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-451242" style="width: 1868px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9dd6ce20"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/12/adcbb99a0867a733a1f4ab5ba291be4c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-451242" class="wp-caption-text">He overwhelmed the Olympian with his technical fights, including several thrusts of left lever blows. He stunned the world&#8217;s top fighters.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> Naoya Inoue (32) <br>
September 14: Defended 4 world super bantamweight championships</h3>
<h4> Showed a &#8220;dimensional difference&#8221; against the &#8220;greatest opponent of his career.</h4>
<p> Silver medal at the World Championships, bronze medal at the Olympics. He described &#8220;Monster&#8221; Mrozhon Ahmadaliev (31), who combines hard hitting and technique, as the &#8220;biggest opponent of his career&#8221; and set his theme as &#8220;technical warfare&#8221;.</p>
<p> Left and right switches, counter uppercuts to lure him against the ropes, and left body strikes &#8211; fans expecting a knockout of Naoya Inoue (32) may have found the 3-0 decision win unsatisfying, but the top fighters were more interested in the technical aspects of the fight, However, the top fighters were rather impressed by the many advanced techniques that Inoue displayed.</p>
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<p> Former world bantamweight champion Jyunjin Nakatani, who is scheduled to fight Inoue in May 2014, said, &#8220;I was watching the fight thinking that I could make moves at various times.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> Boxing in and out, in and out, in and out, getting close and keeping distance. If he wanted to, he could have knocked me out, but I could tell that he was daring to save his moves. That was the way he fought because he was wary of his opponent&#8217;s one shot. I saw his strength in that.&#8221;</span></span></p>
<p> Kazusho Ioka (36), the first Japanese boxer to win a four-weight championship, described Inoue as &#8220;fighting on a different level.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> I started boxing in the first grade of junior high school, but he started in the first grade of elementary school. The difference between us is so big that it&#8217;s exhilarating. For example, Inoue can strike without hesitation in a situation where he is a few tenths of a second late in judging whether he might be hit by a counterattack. There is no way to prevent an attack by unconsciousness or reflex.</span></span></p>
<p> He strikes without letting the opponent strike. The monster is in the super dimension.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The great Yokozuna of Reiwa and the supreme judoka"></div>
<h2>Long-sought victory</h2>
<h3> Oonosato (25) <br>
May 23: Wins on the 13th day of the May tournament and is promoted to yokozuna.</h3>
<h4> The joy of those around him and the meaning of his nonchalant return to the hanamichi (the path of flowers)</h4>
<figure id="attachment_451243" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-451243" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="16ba4672"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/12/6e24f6b78d9f5a00aa070d7bd054a185.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-451243" class="wp-caption-text"> Onosato (right) won the championship by defeating Koto-zakura with a leaning over decision. His promotion to yokozuna in the 13th day after his first appearance in the ring was the fastest since the Showa era (1926-1989).</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> When I saw him coming back down the aisle after winning the championship, his followers were overjoyed with congratulations, but he was nonplussed. I think he was calmly thinking about himself after his promotion to yokozuna.</span></span></p>
<p> He was probably thinking calmly about himself after his promotion to yokozuna,&#8221; said Tetsuya Tokai, the general manager of the sumo club at Niigata Prefectural Maritime High School and a former teacher of yokozuna Onozato (25) during his junior and senior high school years.</p>
<p> Toumi recalls the 13th day of the May 2013 tournament against Koto-zakura (photo), when Onosato secured his promotion to yokozuna by winning the tournament. Ohnosato had fulfilled a wish he had had since boyhood: &#8220;I always said, &#8216;I want to be a yokozuna in the future.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> I had always said that I would be a yokozuna in the future,&#8221; he said. I told everyone around me that I had confidence in myself. He must have had his own image of yokozuna in mind from that time. After entering high school, Ohnosato became the captain of his school&#8217;s sumo team. He was a bit uneasy because of his mischievous side, but his position helped him to grow as a person and lead the club in an honorable manner. I am sure he still has heavy responsibilities, but I believe he will become a yokozuna loved by everyone in Japan.</span></span></p>
<p> Ohnosato is making steady progress as the &#8220;Grand Yokozuna of Reiwa.</p>
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<h3> Abe Uta (25) <br>
June 14: Winner of the Women&#8217;s 52kg Judo World Championships</h3>
<h4> Tough&#8221; Judo Wins with Impressive Revenge!</h4>
<figure id="attachment_451246" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-451246" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="909bad07"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/12/ba168f26e6b27f40d3fa514bf81e1bdc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-451246" class="wp-caption-text"> She won by Ippon over Distria Krasniki (30) of Kosovo in the final, and repeatedly posed with her guts out to express her joy.</figcaption></figure>
<p> It was her fifth win, but the gold medal Abe Uta (25) won had a special meaning.</p>
<p> In the women&#8217;s 52kg category at the Judo World Championships in June 2013, Abe won a convincing victory, as if to make up for her defeat in Paris.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> It was my first World Championships since the previous year&#8217;s Olympics, so I was worried that I still had the image of the defeat in Paris, but my fears were unfounded. In Paris, it seemed that I was a bit aggressive in my game, but at the World Championships, I felt that I had matured, as I was able to move the game forward safely, but then, when the game was on the line, I was able to make a move at once, and that was very skillful. In addition to his natural strength, he has become a judoist who gives us a sense of toughness,&#8221; said former Japan Judo Team member, Mr. Takamasa Anai.</span></span></p>
<p> Abe also won the Grand Slam on December 6, and qualified for the World Championships to be held in October 2014. He proved that he has become a supreme judoka.</p>
<p> From the January 2, 9, and 16, 2026 issue of FRIDAY</p>
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 Yamaguchi Finito Hiroaki/Afro (Inoue) Jiji Press (Oh-nosato) AFLO (Abe)

 Special "New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day" program! The BEST 12 sports defining moments of Reiwa 2025 (2) -- Naoya Inoue defending his 4-team world super bantamweight title, Naoya Ohnosato winning the May Tournament and promotion to Yokozuna, Abe Uta winning the Women's 52kg Judo World Championship...

 Year-End and New Year's Special Program

Ohnosato&#8217;s long-cherished victory, Naoya Inoue&#8217;s &#8220;9/14&#8243;&#8230; &#8220;Decisive Moments in Sports in Reiwa 2025&#8221; once again!

Ohnosato’s long-cherished victory, Naoya Inoue’s “9/14″… “Decisive Moments in Sports in Reiwa 2025” once again!

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