Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani Profit Gap and Takeru Retirement Fight Highlight Contrasting Viewing Cultures and Fan Reactions
Naoya Inoue (right), who won the undefeated showdown against Junto Nakatani, held a press conference. With his younger brother Takuma Inoue.A mega event worth 10 billion yen
A double world title professional boxing match was held on May 2 at Tokyo Dome, where unified WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (33) defeated former three-division world champion Junto Nakatani (28) by decision, successfully defending his title.
The event drew 55,000 spectators and was broadcast live worldwide via pay-per-view (PPV). Its revenue is expected to exceed 5 billion yen from the “THE MATCH” between Tenshin Nasukawa and Takeru four years ago, making it the highest-grossing event in Japanese combat sports history.
Tickets ranged from a top price of 330,000 yen to a lowest price of 11,000 yen, and all sold out quickly. The PPV on NTT Docomo’s streaming service “Lemino” was 6,050 yen for advance purchase and 7,150 yen on the day of the event.
According to some reports, when combined with broadcasting rights for worldwide streaming on sports video service “DAZN,” live viewing tickets priced at 8,200 yen across 116 cinemas nationwide, as well as sponsor revenue and merchandise sales, the event may have become a mega-event worth around 10 billion yen.
Naturally, the fighters’ purses also reached record highs. Naoya Inoue is said to have earned tens of billions of yen, while Nakatani earned between several hundred million and up to around 1 billion yen. Kosei Tanaka (37) and Takuma Inoue (30) are also said to have earned around 500 million yen each.
The main bout between Inoue and Nakatani itself was a thrilling contest.
It was a technical exchange at a high level, with neither fighter allowing clean hits through the first six rounds. In the middle rounds, Nakatani suffered a cut due to an accidental head clash, but that is part of the sport. In the end, Inoue, who outworked his opponent with higher punch volume, won by a 3-0 decision and retained his title.
Online reactions included:
“Round 1 passed in an instant.”
“The tactical battle between the two was incredible.”
All seven bouts on the card ended in decision victories, with a total event duration of seven and a half hours.
“A lot of praise is coming on social media, which is also influenced by how viewing methods have changed with the times. Those who absolutely wanted to see the fight of the century attended in person or used PPV. Many of them are quite knowledgeable about boxing, so the Inoue vs. Nakatani bout, which had a more technical, purist appeal, was very satisfying for them. If this had been broadcast on nationwide television, the online reaction would likely have been quite different,” said a sports newspaper reporter.
In the past, boxing was simply broadcast on television. Viewers were forced to watch it through the channel chosen by the family head, often the father, and some people became fans of boxing that way, while others found it uninteresting.
Takeru’s retirement match was broadcast on terrestrial television. The content of the fight was met with a wave of praise.Takeru, who was particular about having his fight broadcast on terrestrial television
“The appeal of that is there as well, but from now on it will become a culture where ‘only those who want to watch will pay money to see it.’ That way, organizations and fighters will also become financially more prosperous,” said the sports newspaper reporter quoted above.
One event that caused controversy in paid broadcasting was the WBC, which concluded in March. It was exclusively streamed on Netflix, and during that process there was also criticism directed at Japanese TV networks for failing to secure broadcasting rights.
“Baseball, unlike boxing, has long been deeply rooted in Japanese households. That’s why there was a strong rejection of paid streaming, but I think this trend will continue going forward,” said the same sports newspaper reporter.
During the Golden Week period, another major fight in the combat sports world took place. It was Takeru’s retirement match held on April 29 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
His opponent was his longtime rival, Rodtang Jitmuangnon (Thailand). Despite being considered the underdog, Takeru secured a dramatic fifth-round knockout victory to end his career on a high note.
The venue erupted in a standing ovation. Unlike the Inoue–Nakatani fight mentioned earlier, this match was broadcast in full on Fuji TV from 10:00 p.m. to 11:24 p.m.
A Fuji TV insider told this site in an interview:
“I heard there were many twists and turns before it was decided to air it on Fuji. Because it is combat sports, strict compliance measures, including anti–organized crime precautions, are essential. There were even some people who tried to interfere by spreading alarming information after learning that ONE, the organization Takeru belongs to, was pushing for terrestrial broadcast.”
After the fight, social media was filled with praise:
“It reminded me of the old K-1 excitement.”
“Thank you for such a great retirement fight.”
There were almost no critical comments, as the dramatic ending left little room for negativity.
The Fuji TV insider added:
“For it to be praised this much on free-to-air television is incredible. It’s as if he single-handedly carried the success of the event.”
Takeru had reportedly been committed to securing terrestrial broadcast as a way to revitalize the struggling kickboxing scene.
Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani, which generated extraordinary profits, and Takeru’s retirement match, which moved audiences emotionally—both were undoubtedly events that captured the appeal of combat sports.
PHOTO： YUTAKA/Afro Sports (1st), Takahiro Kagawa (2nd)