Junto Nakatani did very well with Naoya Inoue moving up in weight but if not for a Inoue headbutt he might have won.
The Inoue headbutt opened up a bad gash on Nakatani during the fight.
The headbutt came in round 10 and you could say it caused some problems for his vision down the stretch off the fight.
Maybe a pivotal moment but he lost by a relatively close UD on points in the end.
Was the Naoya Inoue headbutt on him on purpose?
We don’t think so to be real — here’s why:
- It was an accidental clash of heads, not intentional.
- The head clash happened late in round 10 while both were trading inside.
- It opened a cut outside Nakatani’s left eye and changed the fight’s momentum.
- Referee didn’t deduct a point because it was ruled accidental.
- Commentators said Nakatani “will rue the head clash” but called it a clash, not a foul.
Who knows what will happen Inoue or Nakatani this year but one thing is for sure — today was a great day for Japan and for boxing worldwide in all countries.
